The Snowbelle City Case
by Bunnimaru
Summary: In a town where things get hot even when they're cold, can the Riot Ball Rangers keep things at peace? Avalanches, kidnappings, oh my. In this fanfic the communication barrier between pokemon and humans has been broken through evolution, for purposes. And yes those purposes involve pokephilia, pairings include HumanM/GlaceonF, HumanM/LopunnyMegaF-andmanymore! HumanM/BraixenF
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Do not own pokemon, of course. If you're not fond of pokephilia, people attracted to pokemon, or anything of the sort, please stop here and get out because I don't need to accumulate hate just because it's something I like reading and writing about. In this story pokephilia is not illegal and a fairly common practice, as pokemon have evolved to the point that they all speak English, eliminating the speech barrier—and realistically, that barrier is the only thing keeping it from being just as common as interracial or gay relationships, considering they're cute, intelligent, and sentient.

CHAPTER 1: "Fool me _three_ times…"

Kalos. It was a land highly considered one of the more romantic regions. Were one to set sight on the trainers, the pokemon, and various locales, they would quickly understand that Kalos is a place for lovers, artists, and starry-eyed dreamers.

Snowbelle city, a quiet little hamlet situated in the mountains of the frigid north, was no exception. Flakes of crystalized humidity dropped gently from the heavens of the night sky, each one its own special piece of the powdery puzzle that blanketed the town year-round. To say that it was a picturesque visa would be an understatement, as in tandem with the quaint architecture, presence of whatever snow-topped greenery could grow in such a harsh climate, and the subtle charm of a crescent moon's gentle beams shafting down through the thin layers of high-flying cirrus clouds, one would be hard-pressed not to snap a photo just to make a nice postcard for a family member.

* **RUMBLE** *

However, wintry weather was not _always_ such a pretty thing.

"Ugh… What…" Started a young boy, jarred awake by the sudden racket, and vibration of the ground. Rubbing the sleep from his green eyes as his transition from slumber to consciousness gradually took place, he suddenly snapped to attention, realizing exactly what was going on. "Oh… no… No, no, no! Not _again_!"

Diving out of bed, he hastily threw on some fuzzy Buneary slippers, as they were the only footwear he had quick access to, and clumsily burst through his bedroom door, so fast he slid across the polished wooden floor and into a table in the hallway, knocking nearly every object it held off.

"GILL! GILLIAM! IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, scrambling to his feet against the poor traction of his adorable night-time shoes. "IT'S ANOTHER AVALANCHE!" He screamed, trying to maintain balance and move in the direction of his elder brother's room, fighting both the quaking ground, and the volume of the imminent cataclysm simultaneously.

A man probably in his late twenties, or early thirties kicked open the door to his own bedroom, so _hard_ that it came unhinged on the top. Unlike his younger sibling, the man had already half-dressed himself in his winter gear, coming into view while pushing a gloved hand through the arm of a long, white trench coat with a fur-rimmed hood. "NO SHIT, ED! WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU HEADING FOR THE SAFE ZONE?!" He boomed, demanding to know why his brother had opted to come to him first, and not see to his own well-being.

The younger of the two gritted his teeth, looking at him as if the answer had to be obvious. "LIKE I WOULD JUST LEAVE WITHOUT CHECKING ON YOU!" He retorted.

Gilliam's dark blue eyes flashed with a deadly seriousness, as he moved with much more swiftness and grace amidst the trembling ground than his kin, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat, and grabbing him by the shoulders. Before Edward had time to react, the much stronger man had forcefully turned him around and shoved him toward the front door. "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! I'M A RANGER FOR ARCEUS' SAKE! AND FOR THE RECORD YOU HAVE ABOUT 50 SECONDS TO HAUL YOUR LITTLE ASS OUT THAT DOOR OR YOU'RE GOING TO BE STUCK IN THIS DAMN HOUSE UNDER FOURTY FEET OF SNOW!"

The youth hesitated, turning to look back at him like he was crazy. "THEN COME WITH ME!" He pleaded.

The man shook his head, "I CAN'T DO THAT, I HAVE TO GATHER MY THINGS SO THAT I CAN RESCUE EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T MAKE IT TO THE SAFE ZONE. DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME, I'LL JUST RADIO MACE TO TELEPORT ME OUT WITH HIS XATU, BUT THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THAT HE'LL GET HERE BEFORE THE TEMPERATURE GETS DANGEROUS, SO **GO!** " He ordered.

Hesitating for another moment, Edward shook it off and obeyed when his brother shoved him again in the direction of the door, opening it and slamming it behind him, taking off into the frigid air and four plus feet of snow in nothing but his pajamas and a pair of cute pokemon slippers.

The 'Safe Zone' as it was called was a tall structure at the center of Snowbelle, built to harbor people safely from avalanches and blizzards, situated with the housing built all around it so that people from all parts of the town could easily get to it in case of just such an event. It was a building with three generators all linked to an interior heating system, standing proudly at roughly ten stories high, triangular in shape, as not to be toppled by avalanches or harsh winds. People who make it there can take an elevator to the top where there are supplies and a satellite array for communications, and the top of the building was fitted with a helipad just as an extra precaution.

Gilliam prayed that his brother still had enough time to make it, but having him stay here would be even more dangerous, as when the house was hit, the air would become limited, and the temperatures would drop so far below freezing, dressed as he was he could die of hypothermia in just an hour of exposure. That, and the house, though built to withstand tons of snow, wouldn't necessarily hold up under the force of being hit.

Not wasting another second, the Ranger pulled up his hood, and warmed his hands, as he set to climbing the stairs to retrieve his rescue gear. He needed to find his beacon, probe, and a shovel, at bare minimum. Fortunately, this avalanche was one he had prepared for, as this was the third one this month. At first, it all seemed coincidental, but now there was no doubt in his mind…

Someone, or some _thing_ , was **causing** this.

After he made it up the stairs, he quickly found all the equipment he had set aside. First, his beacon. This was a necessary precaution when an oncoming avalanche was an issue, as the beacons were capable of detecting one another within a certain distance, using a special radio wave. In case of an avalanche, every citizen of Snowbelle was given one, and instructed to equip it to themselves when the need should arise. Also, were he to get trapped himself, other rangers would be able to locate him and dig him out, provided he could stay alive long enough. Grabbing this, he quickly activated it and pinned the device to the inner pocket of his coat, before grabbing a small metal bar, his probe. This was a collapsible piece of metal used to determine the exact distance needed to dig in order to extract people trapped under snow, so that they didn't become injured by the heavy metal shovel, which he grabbed next.

Pocketing the probe and wielding the shovel, he started to turn around, then he spotted his avalung. The odd-looking device consisted of a mouth-piece, air collector, exhaust pipe, and valve, all connected to a backpack he had previously stocked with MRE's and other necessary supplies. During a burial, people who survive an avalanche tend to die from asphyxiation if not rescued quickly, even faster than they can freeze to death, because the heat from their breath causes the snow to melt, and refreeze, which prevents oxygen from getting through the snow, making toxic levels of carbon dioxide to accumulate. This device was to be worn to prevent this, by taking the outward breaths and spreading them out over a larger distance, decreasing the heat and pushing the CO2 _behind_ the person rather than in front.

Seeing this object, Gilliam cursed himself that he didn't have time to give it to his little brother in case he didn't make it. He _did_ pin the boy's beacon to the back of his shirt before he ran out, (to be truthful it was his own, which he'd kept on him, but he knew there was no time to get the other one) but the avalung would have been much better. If this were to happen again, he'd have to make sure to give it to him and tell him to keep it in his room.

But for now, he reached for the avalung-equipped satchel and…

 ***SSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEESHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!***

He had reached a little too late. The avalanche had made it to the house, and the sounds of creaking wood and shattering glass overtook all of Gill's senses, as he was thrown to the ground roughly, only able to wait it out as it carried on for nearly a minute, the structure of the home groaning and cracking against the weight of the tons of fresh powder, which spilled through every window as much as the packing would allow.

"Augh…." The ranger groaned, hoisting himself off the ground. He could only thank his lucky stars that the house withstood yet another impact, as it still hadn't been repaired fully from the last time. "As soon as everyone's safe, I'm heading straight up that mountain with a sack full of charges and getting to the bottom of this…" he promised no one in particular.

Of course, explosives were also used in avalanche prevention, by blowing up certain areas, causing smaller, less harmful snowslides to prevent too much from building up. He had done this after the first avalanche… and even more on the second. It didn't make any sense that this was happening at all, there shouldn't have _been_ enough buildup.

There was a crackle, issuing from the ranger's jacket as he stood up, dusting himself off. "*Krrtz* Plusle, this is Minun, do you read? Over. *Krttz*" Came a jarbled, but relaxed voice.

Gilliam fished the walkie talkie out of his coat, pressing and holding the transmission button to respond to his ally. "There's a bit of interference, but I hear you, Minun. Over."

A moment passed before he got a response. "*Krrtz* Glad to hear it, everything just settled over here on my side. X managed to use his prophetic powers to tip me off about this one, so I'm already at the Safe Zone, about to go out onto the roof to check things out. *crackle* -eant to contact you earlier, but I only had a few *click*-inutes to get here. Are you alright? Over. *Krrtz*"

Gilliam was glad to hear that X, Mace's Xatu, had forewarned him about this one, because his teleport was going to be key in saving everybody; running the risk of Mace's house being destroyed and him with it would have increased the number of possible casualties exponentially, as he was the only other ranger stationed in this town, which would have left Gill to rescue everyone on his own. "Roger that, Minun. Hey, did my brother make it there alright? Please say yes. It's only a short walk from here, but he was really short on time when I shoved him out the door. Over."

"*Krrtz* I'm fine, Gill. But you didn't answer his question… are _you_ alright? *Krrtz*" Came the voice of Edward. The ranger breathed a sigh of relief before responding.

"You're supposed to say 'over' when you're done talking, you big dummy. With _your_ grades, I'd think you'd know that. Over." He chuckled.

It was not a secret that the 16 year old boy was not only really smart, but a clinically proven super-genius, with an IQ over 220. The boy had already, before his time, graduated out of high school, and was currently living with his older brother while trying to decide what sort of career he wanted to apply his vast intellect to. It was also nice not having all the colleges in Kalos constantly hounding him, as Snowbelle was a pretty secluded city.

"*Krrtz* Oh for the love of- *crackle* I'm not in the military, and neither are you. The use of codenames and all the technical jargon is completely irrational in this scenario and arguably *zztttz* -ust something you want to do for the rare opportunity of correcting me on something. *btzz*" The boy quipped, refusing again to say 'over'.

Before the ranger could say anything, the walkie talkie crackled again with Ed's voice. "*Bltzz* And you _STILL_ haven't answered my question. ARE. YOU. O. K…? *Fttz*"

Gilliam held the communication device to his face as he put the avalung-satchel on his arms, strapping it into place over his jacket. "Naw, Eddy, I'm smashed underneath ten tons of snow and house rubble, if you didn't notice. This is a transmission from heaven." He scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"*krrtz* See, even _you_ didn't say 'over' _that_ time. *bfftz*" the boy remarked, curtly.

A vein stood up above the ranger's brow. "Just put Mace back on, you smartass. We might have people dying out there."

After a moment, Mace returned to the conversation, and the two discussed the process they were going to use to rescue everybody. First, X was going to teleport Mace there, and get him out, and then they were going to rescue everyone that might be buried in the snow outside using the probes and signals from the beacons, and finally they were going to use teleport to enter all the other houses, and rescue any citizens that might have been trapped within, just like last time.

After agreeing on this plan, they set to work. They had no difficulty with getting Gilliam out of his house, the real work started when they searched for beacon signals in the avalanche. They found three people trapped beneath the snow, and two pokemon, a Vulpix, and a Pikachu. Because of its internal heat, the Vulpix was fine when they found it, however the Pikachu was in a critical state. One of the humans they found, also, a bit too late, didn't make it, and the other two were suffering from extreme hypothermia. After transporting the injured to the medical center of the safe zone, they went to the houses, and this is where the longest part of the night passed. Gilliam estimated over half the population of Snowbelle were trapped within their homes with their pokemon, but fortunately, none of that group of citizens were critically injured. However, there _were_ a few houses that were utterly destroyed by the avalanche. Only when they took a head count would they find out if those houses had people in them.

The two rangers worked into the morning, securing everyone and making sure they were heated and fed, as they radio'd for help from the safe zone, calling for some fire types to melt off the snow so that they could get started shoveling out their houses and getting back to their normal lives.

While they waited for the support to arrive, Gill took off a glove and scratched at his scruffy chin, seeming to be in deep thought as they sat inside the top level and conversed. "I tell you one thing, Mace, enough people have died from this. It has to **stop**."

The slightly younger, but more lightly built ranger pushed his glasses up his nose, scratching his ebony head of well-kept hair as he took in the fire burning in his comrade's eyes. "What do you think is causing it?" He asked.

The dusty blonde man put his glove back on, cracking his knuckles as he rose, and began pacing the room in thought. "It's either some kind of terrorist attack, or a really strong ice type having some kind of fit up in the mountains. We need to get our Riot Rods and Riot Balls and head up there as soon as possible. And I mean like we teleport up there as SOON as the melting brigade arrives. The perp might still be around."

"Well that shouldn't take long, and I already have my equipment." Mace corrected, indicating the gear on his belt. Mace was usually more well-prepared than his cohort in general.

Mace's Xatu cocked his head to the side, before adding. "You know, you really should get your own pokemon in this line of work, Gilliam. I know it's not required, but you can only do so much without some kind of partner. And I'm sort of tired of being a personal transport service every time this happens. But if this means it won't happen again, I suppose I can't argue on the validity of nipping it in the bud."

Stopping for a moment to regard X, Gill nodded at him with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that buddy, but you're an important part of the team. Lots of people would have died today without you. I really _do_ appreciate it, sorry if it doesn't seem that way. And I know I should get a partner… but you know how it is. I just work better alone."

The Xatu closed his eyes in an appreciative manner, but then his look darkened to something more serious. "I think you're just afraid you might lose another one."

Gilliam visibly tensed, as if a chord had been struck, but said nothing, resuming his pacing, possibly in a much more irate manner for a good moment, which dragged by in silence.

Mace cuffed his pokemon on his green head, eliciting a birdlike wark. "You _know_ he doesn't like it when we bring that up. You'd think a psychic type would have little more insight, geez."

Edward watched as his brother pulled his hood up, even though they were inside and the area was adequately heated, and sighed. He knew he was just doing it to hide his face.

Years ago, his brother had a Lucario named Locke. They were together since Gilliam's younger days, and when he became a ranger, Locke was made his official partner. The only memories Ed had of Locke were when he was about 4 to 6 years old, but he was always cool, gentle, and caring, often watching after him in his brother's place. Then, 10 years ago, there was a fire at a pokemon center, caused by Team Rocket. They robbed the place of all the valuable pokemon, then set it ablaze to get rid of the evidence. This was when his brother was stationed in Hoenn, designated as the watcher over wildlife in Petalburg Woods, which was right next to the center. Being in the area, before help could arrive, he charged recklessly into the flames to save the people still trapped inside, and worried about him, Locke charged in as well. Being a steel type however, Locke didn't last long, and ended up never making it out.

Of course, this was all back when Gilliam was just a _regular_ pokemon ranger. Edward examined the emblem on the patch of his brother's trench coat, which was emblazoned with the letters 'RBR' and an illustration of a Castform in its Hail weather forme. It was the same as the coat worn by Mace, who was also part of the Riot Ball Rangers.

Unlike regular rangers, Riot Ball Rangers were in a class all their own, made up of only the most highly decorated and elite rangers in the whole world—earning the right to become one didn't come without either tens of years of experience, or being literally some kind of hero.

The difference between a typical ranger and the RBR was what they were equipped with, how they were trained, what type of work they were permitted to do, and what level of authority they had within the law. The main difference of course, was the equipment.

Noticing his brother did not currently carry any, Ed looked to Mace, who was, as usual, equipped with a belt of Riot Balls, the very device for which the RBR were named.

They looked like the average pokeball in shape, but that's where the similarities ended. The ball was clear, but emitted light, glowing an eerie bluish with the power held deep inside. Along the sides of the balls there were fins, to make them more aerodynamic when thrown, much like the Beast Balls of the Alola region, but rather than being straight, they curved along the spheres, making them spin when thrown. In all capital letters on each Riot Ball, was the word 'SUPPRESS'.

These balls were special in not only looks, but in their function. A normal pokeball consisted of three things: a compliance regulator, stasis field, and a registration chip. The stasis field was the energy that shot out, turning a pokemon into data to be contained within the ball. The compliance regulator altered this data so that the pokemon caught would be friendly toward those who caught it, and not attack. The registration chip sent out a signal that registered this particular pokemon's data throughout a universally used netcode to show who caught it, creating a failsafe that made it to where it could not be captured by somebody else until released, which cancelled this function.

However, A Riot Ball consisted of no registration chip, or compliance regulator. Just a much, much more powerful stasis field, called a 'suppressant field.' This field could capture anything with a pulse, not only pokemon, and turn them into data to be stored within the ball, so they could be used in the apprehension of not only unruly pokemon, but humans that break the law as well. The balls also had a 100% capture rate, meaning anything caught would not break out. It accomplished this because the suppressant field had a special wavelength that rendered anything captured utterly unconscious.

However, the downside of this is that all these balls were fragile, and the suppressant field could only be used once. Meaning they were disposable, one-time-only balls mainly used for transporting criminals and pokemon to a detention facility whenever they caused trouble. Without a compliance regulator or registration chip, they did not change the behavior of the target or indicate any type of ownership of course.

The Riot Ball Rangers were named as such because they are the only individuals within the government permitted to use these devices, and were often called in as a special forces task group to suppress riots that couldn't be handled by the police or other government officials. Other people tried to get their hands on this technology, but the balls could be remote detonated by those in charge of their distribution, and each ball had a failsafe that would detonate it if used by anybody other than the person designated to use it.

Looking along Mace's better-equipped coat, Edward noted his stun baton. It looked like any normal one now, but when activated, these weapons, called 'Riot Rods' by the RBR, could be set to emit a special electrical pulse that emulated any pokemon type, meaning they could be set to a polarity that any pokemon is weak against to better suppress it, nonlethally, of course. Each and every RB Ranger was heavily trained in both the use of the Riot Balls, and the Riot Rods, which they used with the Kali stick fighting martial art.

Edward turned his gaze back to his brother, who had stopped pacing, and simply stared out the window with his back turned to them, awaiting the arrival of the melting brigade with some semblance of impatience, as he nervously tapped his snow-shoed foot.

Gilliam blamed himself for the death of Locke. The ranger saved not only Nurse Joy, but 4 sick pokemon by himself that day, sporting many second and third degree burns that took many years to heal, and some still left their scars. He however, did not notice that Locke had followed him in until it was too late. Ridden with guilt, he would always ask himself things like 'why didn't I pay more attention' or 'why didn't Locke's aura telepathy reach me, was my mind so closed off?'

Soon after that Gilliam was made into a hero, and nominated for the RBR afterwards. They offered him pokemon partners to team up with when he was initiated, but he refused, saying that he'd never again put a pokemon in the same kind of peril he himself was willing to face, and if they wanted him to be RBR, they'd take him and only him. He used the remorse and righteous fury that he felt over his friend's demise to power through the training, rising to the top of his class even though he didn't have a partner. The only reason he wasn't famous was the fact that the identities of RB Rangers are kept secret, and the work they do that don't involve their designated areas are always kept covert.

Edward sighed as he watched him. He might have been a genius, but he always felt he could never live up to the kind of man his older brother was.

"Good, here they come. Get them on the radio, Mace. I'm going up to meet them and make sure they land alright." Gilliam said, stepping into the elevator that led to the roof.

When the door slid shut, Ed heard the sound of a chopper, and turning to look outside, he could only barely make it out in the distance. His brother had a really good eye for motion.

"Roger that." Mace said, standing up and changing the frequency of his walkie-talkie to the channel used by the melting brigade the last time they were called in.

The youthful blonde stopped paying attention, just falling into his own thoughts. He wondered if he ever had what it took to make the kind of positive differences his brother did in the lives of others every single day. The boy was wimpy and bookish. The most he could do was probably like 20 pushups. Perhaps he had mastered some of the highest levels of chemistry, invented a few things, and discovered an entirely new element (which was named Pokkenium), but in the face of his brother's shadow, he truly saw just how much louder actions spoke than words.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Do not own pokemon, of course. If you're not fond of pokephilia, people attracted to pokemon, or anything of the sort, please stop here and get out because I don't need to accumulate hate just because it's something I like reading and writing about. In this story pokephilia is not illegal and a fairly common practice, as pokemon have evolved to the point that they all speak English, eliminating the speech barrier—and realistically, that barrier is the only thing keeping it from being just as common as interracial or gay relationships, considering they're cute, intelligent, and sentient.

CHAPTER 2: "Louder Than Words"

Gilliam stepped out into the freezing temperatures to meet with the melting brigade, directing their landing with a couple of LSO (or landing signal officer) glow-paddles, as they had yet to install blinkers for the helipad. As the sound of the large military grade double propeller helicopter died out, a human clad in a mixture of winter gear and fire-safety equipment stepped out, followed closely by two Charizards and a Magcargo. He saluted the ranger, as if he were a military official himself.

"Thanks for the help, Officer McAllister." The man stated politely.

Gilliam threw out his own salute, though it was the RB Ranger Salute, a bit different than a normal military one, and involved a hand gesture that placed two fingers to the forehead, then to the heart, then the hand was opened, and waved outwards in a giving motion. This was designed to be an indication that the mind and hearts of the RBR are open to all citizens who respected the law. "At ease, Major. It's no problem at all. After all, you're the ones here helping _us_." He reminded.

The major removed his flight goggles, and relaxed his posture, favoring the ranger with a lopsided grin. "Third time this month, too. You Hailcoats must really have your work cut out for you."

Though it might have seemed odd to someone not educated on the RB Rangers, 'Hailcoats' was a term used to refer to the division of the RBR that Gilliam currently belonged to. Though they all wore the trademark uniform of their profession; a trench coat, they were colored based on the area where they were stationed. The forme of the Castform on the jacket's emblem was also used to designate what type of RB ranger they currently were, though it was not uncommon for them to move around and have these jackets reassigned. The Hailcoats were stationed in areas of harsh cold, such as Snowbelle, to deal with things like blizzards and avalanches, as they had today. There were also the Sunnycoats, which wore red jackets and were assigned to areas of intense heat, their main job was dealing with fires, volcanic eruptions, that sort of thing. Then there were the Raincoats, which wore blue, and were put in areas close to the water, and used to help with cataclysmic things like floods, whirlpools, hurricanes, and tidal waves. Every other ranger wore a gray coat and were referred to as Cloudcoats, and they could be dispensed to deal with any number of things.

Gill looked toward the mountain that had doubtlessly been the source of today's natural disaster, his face scrunched in concentration. "Don't worry, this is the _last_ time I plan on having a repeat performance from that particular peak. In fact, if you don't mind, I'd like you to take charge here and get things underway without my presence, if that's alright. There's something we hailcoats need to investigate immediately." He stated flatly, never removing his eyes from the scenery he'd fixated them upon.

Once again, the Major saluted. "You don't have to ask if I mind, Sir. You are technically my superior."

The ranger chuckled at this. "Only technically. But thanks in advance. Now if you'll excuse me…" He said, turning around, the lower portion of his jacket following his motion in a flutter of insulated white leather.

"Sir, yes SIR!" the leader of the melting brigade barked, straightening the salute he had not dropped.

Edward McAllister, bored out of his wits while he waited for things to go back to normal, busied himself with his laptop, (which he had brought to him by X), upon which he fiddled with an app he himself had created, an ingenious little program that worked a bit like a spreadsheet, though it was calibrated to do chemical calculations rather than mathematical ones. He used this to determine the outcomes of combining certain compounds, without the need of a lab and actual experimentation. It was all theoretical of course, but he determined that it was correct roughly 90% of the time. Using this, he discovered on the daily new ways to mix certain chemicals and elements, trying to think of ways they could be applied to everyday life. Sometimes they would have explosive results, sometimes they altered genetic structure, other times they made things about as useful as Skitty urine.

The elevator dinged, and Gilliam stepped out, immediately looking around for his spectacle-wearing cohort. "Mace, are you and X ready? Where are you?" He called.

"You just missed them," Ed answered, never looking from his screen as he bit into a piece of beef jerky. "They went to go get your weapons, since you never bother carrying them." The boy added, dryly.

Gilliam groaned as one of his bigger pet peeves had been struck. " _How_ many times do I have to _tell_ you, they're not ' **weapons'** …"

Still not looking from his screen, Edward snorted. "Yeah, glowy balls that without fail knock anything they catch out and explode if not handled properly, and a retractable tazer that can literally create an electrical field that mimics the properties of anything from fire to poison. Totally not weapons."

The eldest brother's head formed a large sweatdrop at the sheer level of sarcasm he was just exposed to. "Weapons are lethal. The Riot gear is nonlethal. Therefore not weapons… Weapons are for killing."

"If you left whatever you caught in the ball long enough it would die of thirst, if you recall they are not like regular pokeballs in that the stasis fields aren't calibrated to freeze the digestive tract of anything captured, so that's three days. The explosions from the failsafe are strong enough to blow off an arm, literally all you'd have to do is hand it to someone and tell them to try to throw it at you, and they'd bleed out in roughly 2 to 5 minutes, and I don't think I have to tell you that electricity can easily shock the system of a living being enough to cause cardiac arrest if used in excess." The boy commented flatly, taking a sip from some hot chocolate he had on hand.

Realizing he'd never be able to beat his younger brother in a debate, Gilliam simply scoffed. "You have _no_ idea how much I miss having mom around to slap you upside the head whenever you start acting like a smartass."

The boy smirked. "At least it's better than being a _dumb_ ass."

As the Ranger poised himself to reprimand his little brother for not only his language, but insulting his intelligence in such a patronizing (if witty) manner, a flash emitted between them, eliciting a noise like a silenced pistol being fired. It was of course Mace and X, freshly teleported back from the McAllister residence.

Noticing Gill's fist raised, Mace held out the belt of his equipment, all the while making a wounded expression at his compatriot. "Geez, I just went to get your stuff, you don't have to _hit_ me?"

Using the same hand he'd raised, the embarrassed ranger snatched his gear from the man immaturely, as Mace let his gesture dissolve into a poorly concealed grin, with his hands up in a non-offending way, clearly trying not to laugh. "You could have at least _told_ me!" Gill grumbled, "Just how much of my junk did you **go** through before you _found_ that?"

The man turned around and pushed his glasses up on his nose, the lighting just right for them to flash in a very anime-like manner. "Not _that_ much, why? Afraid I was going to find your stash of poképorn?"

* **Whack** *

As Gilliam stood there with his eyes closed and a large vein popping out of his forehead, he fastened the belt of his things to his waist, meanwhile Mace was left nurturing a steaming lump on his head.

"Kakakah! That's what you get for mentioning stuff like that when you two go out to the bar to get wasted!" X joked, laughing a birdish laugh.

* **WHACK** *

The Xatu was quickly repaid for this comment, nursing a similar lump next to his partner in the exact same manner.

Regretting that he ever got drunk enough to discuss the fact that there were certain pokemon he found sexually attractive, Gilliam folded his arms. "If you two are done **messing** around, we need to teleport to the peak where the activity from today originated."

"Kahh… yeah, but I think you knocked something loose in my head. Krrr… Mm. Yep, teleport is definitely out of service now…" The pokemon began, however he rethought his choice of words very quickly when he saw the ranger posed to whap him again. "Wah! I mean, yeah yeah, let's go, one teleport coming right up, just grab on!"

The psychic/flying type spread his wings out, the two hailcoats placed a hand on each, and the Xatu glowed purple, until the aura enveloped the three of them. Then, with another silenced gunshot sound, they blipped out of sight in a bright flash, instantly.

Looking up from his laptop, Ed stared at the spot where they once were, pensively. "Yep, actions speak louder than words alright…" He chuckled to himself.

When the teleport was complete, the two RB Rangers and the snarky pokemon were met with the harsh temperatures of the summit of the aptly named Mt. Whiteout, coupled with some rather intense sub-zero winds that prompted both humans to pull their furred hoods up, tightening them to their heads with the pullstrings as far as they'd go.

With the change in altitude and drop in temperature, it was very difficult to breathe, but they were both trained to withstand harsh conditions, and it didn't seem to bother them nearly as much as it would a normal person. Besides, this was the third time they had been up here in the last thirty days.

Mace wiped some accumulating frost from his glasses with a gloved finger, looking to his fellow ranger with a serious expression, but raising his voice a bit to speak over the frigid gale. "Are we going to set off charges like the last time?" He asked.

"Unless you have them with you, then no. That's something else I forgot to bring with me… but that's not why we're here. I _told_ you, we're going to find out what's causing these avalanches _right_ now." Gilliam stated matter-of-factly.

X did a ridiculous dance, freezing his feathers off. "You guys _know_ I hate the cold **enough** as it is. I'm so tired of doing this it's _stupid_ …" He complained.

Gill examined every aspect of his surroundings, already searching for anything and everything that might give them a clue as to what was going on in Snowbelle this month, and why. "Then use your extrasensory to tell us whether or not there's anyone suspicious nearby. The sooner we find out what's going on here, the sooner we can go back."

The beaked pokemon clucked in an irate manner, before complying, spreading his wings out again as he concentrated his powers, closing his eyes as his psychic glow surrounded him. After a moment of this, he opened his eyes, now pupil-less, and glowing bright white, as he used his innate sixth sense to see rather than his actual sight.

In the wake of this, all the mental energy in the area was laid bare, and he could see the two RB rangers in a very different light, Mace emitting a calm, calculated pulse, while Gilliam emitted a fiery, righteous one. He could even detect their surface thoughts, but currently they were both settled on finding whatever they could, and saving Snowbelle from any more avalanches, so he ignored that, extending his power outward.

Noticing that he had complied, the two hailcoats looked to the Xatu in silence, trying to get a read on his expression, to make a judgement on whether or not they were alone.

After a few moments, X opened his beak a little in surprise. He sensed a gentle presence; a very sad and forlorn mind… but then, it was overtaken by a powerful, dark hatred. So dark in fact, that his Extrasensory was overpowered, disabling it, and scrambling his mind for a moment.

"KYAHHHHH!" The Xatu crowed, his power releasing in a flash of dissipating purple orbs of light, which shrank into the air before disappearing. The bird had clearly been winded by what he had seen, and he dropped to the ground on 'all fours', using his wings like hands, gasping for breath.

Mace quickly went to his partner's aid, worry coloring his expression. " _Mew's_ _ **tail**_ , X, what the hell did you just see?!"

The birdlike pokemon shook his head, striving to piece his temporarily garbled brain back together to provide a coherent answer. "Something… angry. Something… _immeasurably_ cold. Gilliam was right, something up here is definitely not right… I've read a lot of minds, but _never_ have I seen such a deep… **black** rage. Not… evil, just angry. _Very_ angry."

Gilliam's facial expression, which was at first concerned, melted into a rather different look of deep thought, as both his fears and suspicions were confirmed. "X, which way?" He asked.

"Don't jump to conclusions like you usually do. It could be something totally unrelated to this incident, Gill." The younger human made sure to mention, helping his pokemon to its feet.

"It's the only lead we _have_." The sandy blonde reminded him. "We need to at least check it out."

X ruffled his feathers, and gently nudged his trainer aside, able now to stand without assistance. "There's a cave a bit farther down. I can't teleport you there… the negative energy is a bit too strong, so that'll interfere and we could end up teleporting off the mountain, 500 or more feet up. We could end up falling to our deaths. We're going to have to climb down. Well. You two are, I mean. I can fly."

The two rangers exchanged looks, neither of them having brought the proper equipment to make the climb. "If teleport is on the fritz while we're here, I guess that means we're going to have to go down as we are." Mace mused, pushing his glasses up his nose in a mildly annoyed manner.

Gill folded his arms. "Well I hope you don't still think there's no reason to go at this point. Without teleport, we can't even get _off_ this mountain. We _have_ to detain whatever it is if we want to leave, and before we all freeze to death."

"Assuming it's something that's even detainable." Mace argued, folding his arms as well.

X intervened, eliminating that possibility. "Such animosity can only come from a being with a soul, master. One that has suffered to the point of being nearly overtaken by thoughts of vengeance. As much as I hate to admit it, Gilliam is correct. There's almost no chance that whatever this is hasn't been causing these avalanches, if they are truly not coincidental."

"Lead the way then. We'll follow you down." The older ranger concluded, making an effort to stretch in preparation for doing something so dangerous, one false move could lead to an early grave. Mace began to do the same.

Nodding, X took to the air, shivering a little once he was afloat. Oddly, he did not have to flap his wings to fly, merely hold them outward, probably due to being able to also levitate. "Right, just be careful. This way."

Meanwhile, in a secluded cave dug in the side of the summit of that very mountain, a young Eevee stirred from its sleep. The small, brown creature could not look more harmless and innocent, and though it's pelt was matted with a bit of frost, it appeared to be used to it, as it stretched cutely, and poked its head curiously out of a perfectly symmetrical igloo, situated on the inner-most part of the cavern. Looking left and right, it frowned.

"I'm over here, Melody." Came the cool, feminine voice of her sister, for whom she'd searched.

The little Eevee's ear twitched, and she turned to see the Glaceon sitting near the entrance of the cave, staring down at the human city below, her gorgeous features slick with a look of disgust.

"Looks like even after _all_ of that, those stupid humans are still alive. The snow that I sent down will be melted again at this rate. I no longer have the power to create anymore. I'm going to have to think of something else." The ice-type scoffed.

Melody sat next to her, not making a sound.

After a moment of silence, the Glaceon looked at her sister, her face shifting from one of disdain, to one of frustration. "You shouldn't be sitting so close to the entrance like this… Those white-coated humans are going to be up here soon to set off more of their bombs. They think that this will all stop if they shake the mountain clean. You need to go back to sleep, sweet sister. I don't want you to see what I'm going to _do_ to them when they show up."

The first time the humans had arrived, the ice-type eeveelution hadn't expected it, so she hid and kept her distance. The second time, she was poised for a sneak attack but ended up a victim of her own stealth, as they set off some charges very close to her position, and she ended up buried under a small avalanche before she could get to them. It was no problem for her of course, but by the time she dug herself out, they were gone. She was tired of them interfering with her plans for Snowbelle, and blowing up her mountain. This time for _sure_ , she'd kill them, she thought.

Glancing to the side as the eevee obeyed (again without saying a word or even making a sound) and went back into the igloo she'd made to keep her warm, the Glaceon began pondering exactly how she'd do it.

"Perhaps I'll _rip_ their throats out. Or maybe I should just freeze them solid and _push_ them off the side of the mountain. No, no, too painless. Hmm…"

"Kah! It's right over here, you're almost there!" Came a birdlike voice in the distance, just a whisper on the wind, but quickly picked up by her long, diamond-shaped ears, which twitched before she snapped to attention, quickly hiding in a pile of snow near the mouth of the cavern, utterly invisible to the naked eye. She didn't recognize the voice, but it sounded like a pokemon's. If they got too close, she'd chase them off, she thought.

As she waited patiently a Xatu landed near the cave entrance, shaking it's feathers free of the snow it had accumulated. "Right, there you go, don't slip now."

Within the pile of white powder, two sapphire eyes seemed to glow.

'What on earth is that featherbrained idiot doing in **my** cave… I've never seen a Xatu around these parts before... Birds can't _survive_ in this kind of climate. And what's he babbling about?' The Glaceon quietly pondered, electing to wait and see what he does, ready to attack if he set even one foot toward her sister, who hopefully knew well enough to stay put.

Then something she didn't expect happened. A pair of feet dangled from the top of her cave, clad in white, insulated pants, and thick snow shoes, before down came one of the white coated humans, landing rather gracefully for one of their brood.

The man was a well-built, middle-aged looking human with lengthy golden hair that meshed with his sideburns to come down into a scruffy goatee upon his chin. He walked slightly into the cave, just enough to be shielded from the wind. He proceeded to pat the accrued ice residue from his jacket, and then removed his hood, revealing that his hair was even longer than it first appeared, bound in the back by a band, in a ponytail.

' **Impossible**!' She thought to herself, eyes narrowing in anger. ' _How_ did they _find_ this place!? There's no _way_ they spotted me before…. And even if they did, humans are too _stupid_ to connect these incidents to me… So why on **earth** are they here? There's not that much snow for them to blast away at this part of the summit!'

Another human dropped down from the top, this one younger looking and more thinly built, but slightly taller, with black hair and one of those eyesight assisting apparatus on his face.

She cursed herself inwardly, fighting the urge to snarl in her anger. She had expected the white coated humans, for sure, but she'd planned to track them down once they started bombing things… she had no _idea_ what could have led them to come _here_ …

The Xatu waddled into the cave with the two humans and shook his feathers free of snow, causing them to puff out in an almost humorous way for a moment. "So yep, this is it. This is where those nasty thought waves were coming from. At least I think so." He stated, looking around, as his two companions began to do the same.

The Glaceon gritted her teeth so hard, they nearly cracked under the immense pressure. 'That **stupid** bird! He must have used some kind of psychic trick to figure me out! They _**are**_ here for me!' she screamed inwardly.

Gilliam rubbed his hands together to get them warmer, before patting X on the shoulder in a congratulatory manner. "Good job, X. Once again, I don't know where we'd be without your abilities. Today really would have sucked without you."

The odd-looking pokemon chuckled a cluckish chuckle. "Don't think I don't **know** it. You guys should just retire and let _me_ be the RB Ranger. Kekekeh…"

Mace popped his neck, which had grown stiff from the climb down, then, surveying the area cautiously, his spectacled eyes scanned across the cave for anything that might have been suspicious. There wasn't much, just a few bits of food scattered here and there, and patches of snow lying about… but then he locked onto the only thing that stood out as curious to him, that being a tiny igloo, located in the very back. "Huh. Would you look at _that_ …" He said, walking towards it.

The Glaceon tensed.

"Hmm, what is it?" Gilliam asked, looking over to where he was.

Mace took another few steps towards the little ice structure, admiring how neat and perfect it was. "It's an… igloo. Wow, really good craftsmanship too. I've been to lots of areas where they use these, but I've never seen one quite like _this_. It looks like it's probably pretty warm inside. I wonder…" He trailed, kneeling down to take a look inside.

Something deep inside the Glaceon snapped. How **dare** they come in here and approach her beloved sister like that?! The time for hiding was over, these humans needed to _die_!

Bursting forth from her spot in the snow, she leapt very high into the air, startling everyone in the room. "YOU GET AWAY FROM THERE YOU **FILTHY** HUMAN!" She growled, ice particles forming all around her while she was still airborne, swirling, and finally launching towards the back of the unsuspecting ranger with all the force and fury of a mighty blizzard.

"Wha-what the-!?" Was all the black-haired man had time to say, as he turned around just in time to be met by the powerful attack, unable in his light-weight to defend himself from being swept off his feet, as he was thrown into a violent tumble, rag-dolling into the far wall with a resonating crack.

" **MACE**!" Gilliam called out, dashing from his position to check on his compatriot without hesitation.

However, the Glaceon was one step ahead of him, attempting to cut him off as she, with unbelievable agility, leapt off the ceiling of the cavern that she had propelled herself towards with the earlier jump (before launching the blizzard), careening toward the other human at an impossible speed, her fangs glowing light blue and ready to rip his throat out. "DIE!"

However, Gilliam had more experience in combat than Mace did, and his reflexes were much sharper. Eyes narrowed, he intercepted the Ice-type, using her momentum to fall backwards as she connected with him, rolling onto his back and using the force generated by the motion to launch her into the igloo with his foot, utterly shattering it, as she and her poor sister were left reeling in a pile of pulverized ice, both of them wondering what the hell hit them.

" **Stop** this _right_ now! Why the _hell_ are you attacking us!?" Gilliam demanded to know, checking on Mace while the Glaceon was recovering from the throw.

Glasses shattered, the man slumped against the corner of the cave, a bloody spot on his head. He was still very much alive, just knocked out. 'Damn, must have hit his head against the wall when he was hit with that blizzard' Gilliam cursed inwardly.

Blinded by rage, the Glaceon struggled to her feet, positively shaking with fury as she glared a look of sheer murderous intent at the human. " _You_ … Come to **MY** mountain… blow up **MY** things… barge into **MY** home… Try to lay your **FILTHY** hands on **MY** sister, and you have the _nerve_ to ask me **WHY**? YOU SON OF A BITCH!" She snarled, launching a frigid beam from her mouth, right at him.

In a kneeling position from checking on Mace, Gilliam had made the mistake of dropping his stance, not expecting the ice-type to recover so quickly. At that range, there was no way he could dodge that attack, so he held his arms up, wincing as he expected the worst.

"LOOK OUT!"

* **CRRRISSSHHH** -crk-crk-crk… _FWUMP_ *

However, the attack never came. Wondering what had happened, the ranger lowered his arms, trying to see what had stopped him from being hit.

His answer came in the form of X, lying on the ground in front of him, completely frozen solid in a block of ice. He was officially on his _own_ in this battle.

"X! **DAMMIT**!" He cursed, taking the opportunity to stand up and grab one of his Riot Balls from his belt.

The Glaceon, upon seeing the ball, went so berserk that she utterly forgot about the well-being of her precious sister, who still laid on the sidelines in the rubble of her igloo, trying to shake off the impact in utter silence. She had not even yelped when hit.

"YOU HUMANS ARE ALL THE SAME! YOU THINK I'M GOING TO LET YOU TURN ME INTO YOUR **SLAVE** WITH THAT _STUPID_ DEVICE!?" She shrieked, jumping at the man much more quickly than before, and as Gill was taken aback by how much her rage had increased her already astonishing speed, he only had time to hold the arm that held the ball up in defense as she clamped down on it with icy fangs, immediately coating his forearm in a thick sheet of frost, forcing him to drop the ball as his entire right arm went numb almost instantaneously.

"Agh, **fuck**! Will you just…" He began as she held onto his frozen limb with tremendous bite-force. With his free arm, he grabbed his Riot Rod, and whipped it out to full length, igniting it on the fire setting, and slamming it into the back of her neck all in one fluid motion. " _LISTEN_ TO ME FOR A SECOND!?" He demanded.

So hard was the impact, that she nearly went under right there, falling off of his arm and to the ground, only to be zapped by a strangely hot, orange electricity, that set her insides on fire as she lay on the ground, convulsing and screaming in agony as she felt like her entire body was being set ablaze, and electrocuted at the same time.

Knowing the effects of the flame shock wouldn't last long, Gilliam jumped back a couple of times, giving himself a little distance from her should she manage to get up again, which in her fury, he was expecting. Putting the rod away, he retrieved a second Riot Ball with the same hand, the other made temporarily useless by her Ice Fang.

He would have melted it with the fire setting of the advanced baton, but he may not have had time, and he risked electrocuting himself if he were to do that. He positioned himself to throw the ball in a special RBR pitching posture, but first said something to her while she was incapacitated. "For the record, I didn't _want_ to do that. Nor did I want to hurt your sister, who I didn't even know was in there. We only came here to ask you what you knew about the avalanches, but now that you've attacked us and I've seen just how much you hate humans, I'm _certain_ **you** were the one doing it all… In the name of the RB Rangers and the Kalos division of the international police, you're under arrest. You can talk to me more about _why_ you did all of this when you've calmed down a bit, you insane ice witch." He proclaimed, winding up, and pitching the ball, which left a glowing trail in the air as it spiraled towards her at an impressive speed.

However, the Glaceon was not quite done yet… she still had one attack left in her, and she'd be damned if she was going to become a _pet_ to this **damnable** human.

"A…As if, bastard…" She groaned, lifting her head, as she summoned the ice particles around her again, launching another blizzard at the ball's path at an upward angle. This was not positioned well enough to hit the ranger, but it would blow the ball out of the cave before it had a chance to hit _her_. The man watched as the ball changed trajectory, set to fly right over his head.

"Oh, I don't think so, you're not getting away from _THIS_ one!" He shouted, and in an amazing display of athleticism and precision, he turned around and flipped backwards as the ball passed overhead, performing a somersaulting soccer-kick that sent the ball right back at her, the speed of its flight even more blistering than his initial throw.

The look on her face as she used the last bit of her energy was one of utter disbelief. There's no possible way this man was a mere human, no human could do something like that, _could_ they? Humans were supposed to be slow, and weak! It was impossible, impossible! She didn't _want_ to be a slave!

"No…!" She squeaked out, wincing as the ball smacked her right in the head.

As it floated up, and began to open, her eyes trailed to look at her sister, who was currently sitting in the corner, petrified with fear. The beautiful blue orbs of the Glaceon teared up, wavering with despair as she was enveloped by the eerie blue light. "Melody… I'm sorry, I… I _failed_ …!"

Transfigured into data form, the ball sucked up all of the light again, snapping shut, and hitting the ground with an immediate click. The light contained within had changed to glow red now, indicating that it currently contained a life, and would break upon its release.

Unable to complete the flip from that kick fully, Gilliam lay on his stomach, looking over his shoulder with a sigh of relief before he rested his head on the ground for a moment, glad he'd managed to pull that off.

After a brief rest, he picked himself up off the dirty cave floor, and retrieved the ball containing the ice-type, as well as the one he'd dropped before, reattaching them to his belt, and then rubbing his frozen arm in an attempt to thaw it out. " _Arceus_ , that was too close for **comfort**. Who'd have thought an _eeveelution_ could be so damn _dangerous_. I'd have had an easier time fighting off a group of rampaging _Primeape_." He muttered to himself, assessing his current situation. Mace was unconscious, and X was frozen, so teleporting was out. And without climbing equipment and his arm disabled, there was no way he could carry them down the mountain. He could use his remaining two Riot Balls to carry them, but there was still no way he'd be able to make it down without some kind of assistance. X had to be thawed as soon as possible or he'd die.

Remembering the melting brigade, he pulled out his walkie talkie, changing the frequency to the Major's channel, and pressing the transmit button. "Charmander, this is Plusle. Do you read? Over."

After a moment, to the man's great relief, there was an answer. *Krrtz.* Just wrapping up on the melt, Plusle. What's the situation up there? Over. *bzzp*"

Before answering, Gilliam was met with the large, terrified gaze of the Eevee that the Glaceon had referred to as Melody just a few moments ago. His heart melted as she looked like she truly believed she was going to die, or be 'enslaved'. "…I'll tell you about it when we get back. For now, I need you to bring the chopper over here, ASAP. I'll send out a flare so you can find us..."

*end chapter 2*


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Do not own pokemon, of course. If you're not fond of pokephilia, people attracted to pokemon, or anything of the sort, please stop here and get out because I don't need to accumulate hate just because it's something I like reading and writing about. In this story pokephilia is not illegal and a fairly common practice, as pokemon have evolved to the point that they all speak English, eliminating the speech barrier—and realistically, that barrier is the only thing keeping it from being just as common as interracial or gay relationships, considering they're cute, intelligent, and sentient.

CHAPTER 3: "Silencing the Truth"

"Wake up." Came a familiar voice, slightly impatient.

The Glaceon groaned, her entire body aching, and her sapphire-like eyes fluttering open slowly. As things came more into focus, she noticed she was on a hard, stone floor, in a small cell with thick iron bars, built into the side of a large room. She didn't at first know what was going on.

"Whuh… Guh…" She grumbled, her head overtaken by a pounding migraine, "Where am I?" She asked.

The human from before sat outside the cell looking at her from a desk chair, which was situated next to a small, monitor mounted desk. He leaned against it with his elbow, his hand fisted and supporting his head as he looked at her with an expression that was a mixture of pensiveness, and nonchalance. "You're in my basement. This area is a facility for detaining pokemon and human criminals alike." He stated, blandly.

As she laid eyes on the hated man, memories of what had transpired before came flooding back to her in a rush of pain and misery. She quickly became enraged, snapping from her position to grind her head against the bars, a futile attempt in trying to get to him so she could tear him to shreds. " _YOU_!" She snarled, launching an Ice Beam through the bars in his direction almost immediately.

The man didn't move, as the frigid laser left the cell, and struck some kind of invisible force, which emitted an electric glow, before cancelling her attack out entirely.

Gilliam did not change his expression or sitting position, merely staring at her the way one would expect a law enforcer to look at a killer. "I wouldn't waste the energy. I told you, this place is for detaining _pokemon_ as well as humans. That cell is equipped with the most technologically advanced force-field the government can afford."

She growled at him, glaring as much hatred at the man as she could possibly manage. "You humans and your **damned** gadgets! Fight me like a _real_ man!" She demanded.

The ranger's countenance took on an even more sourly unamused look. "Why? So you can kill me and escape to try and murder even _more_ innocent civilians? I don't think so." He stated, flatly.

"You FUCKING BASTARD! **WHERE** IS MY SISTER!?" She growled, struggling again against the bars despite all the pain she was in.

Not bothering to answer her, he stared at her for a moment, then turned to look at a staircase, and put two fingers in his mouth, before letting out a loud whistle that almost hurt her ears.

From that direction came a few light stepping noises, and though it took a few moments, Melody came into view, poking her head shyly and silently around the railing of the staircase, looking at Gilliam with something akin to nervousness.

"MELODY!" The Glaceon cried, forcing herself against the bars even more than before.

The little Eevee's eyes shrank for a moment, but in her expression you could see that she was happy to see that her sibling was alright. She looked to the ranger, as if for some sort of approval.

The long-haired man nodded at her, beckoning her with a wave of his hand. "It's alright, sweetheart, come on in and let your sister see that you're alright. Maybe _you_ can calm her down a little bit so she'll talk to me about what she did, hm?"

The Glaceon was astonished that her sister was out in the open, when she wasn't. Why was she being so friendly towards the _enemy_? Maybe she was just faking so she could get a chance to help her escape…?

The Eevee nodded timidly, scuttling into the room, and walking up to the bars, before sitting down and looking into her sibling's eyes with an expression that said she was… ashamed…?

The Glaceon calmed a bit, but was beginning to wonder exactly what was going on. "Melody… why are you listening to this human…? Don't tell me…"

And just like that, the Glaceon snapped again, slamming her tail against the bars, as if trying to break them, causing her sister to quickly dart in fear behind Gilliam's chair. "YOU _CAPTURED_ HER DIDN'T YOU? WITH YOUR _BRAINWASHING_ BALLS! I'LL **NEVER** FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!" She vowed, positively furious.

Turning the chair around and ignoring her tantrum, the Ranger picked up the little Eevee, who allowed him to do so, and set her in his lap, as he pet her head, in an attempt to calm the poor thing down. "I did **no** such thing. The balls we RB Rangers use are not fitted with devices for making a pokemon non-hostile or compliant. She is wild and free still, just as _you_ are. If you don't believe me, then just take a look at yourself. You still very much wish to kill me, even after being caught by that same kind of ball. If this were not true, you'd have not attacked several times since waking up. Take your own free will as _proof_ that your sister has not been mistreated or captured in any way, shape or form." He went on to tell her.

The Glaceon stopped what she was doing, laying down for a moment, having overexerted and hurt herself. Her look was one of utter confusion and denial.

"…M… Melody… is it true? You haven't been captured again…?" She asked, her eyes beginning to well up.

The Eevee's eyes also began to moisten, and look even more ashamed than before. She however, in utter silence as always, shook her head to confirm this.

The Glaceon could tell when her sister was being sincere. The man was telling the truth. For a moment, there was silence. If she hadn't been captured, then why was she all buddy-buddy with the ranger? When she, her only sister, was sitting in jail?

Breaking the silence, Gilliam picked Melody up, and set her down on the ground very gently, petting her once more before turning to look once again at the perplexed Glaceon.

"Your sister… I'm sorry, Melody, I mean. She… can't speak, can she?" He calmly asked her.

Though weakened by the thought that her sister was working with this human for whatever reason, the anger returned to the Glaceon's eyes, as she glared at him from her position on the ground. "No, human, she _cannot_. And it's all thanks to humans like _you_."

Gilliam took a moment to process this. "Our data shows she has been captured before, but she's not currently registered to any trainer. It says she was released. Why don't you tell me _exactly_ what happened, since she can't?" He asked.

"I don't have to tell _you_ **anything** , human." She spat, looking at the wall. While weakened physically, her pride was still as strong as ever.

"I _have_ a name, you know. And its Gilliam. Gilliam McAllister. I don't suppose you'd be interested in telling me yours?" He suggested, folding his arms.

"Diamond." She surprised him by answering immediately. "My name is Diamond. Because my will is _unbreakable_." She stated, refusing to swallow even an _ounce_ of the afore-mentioned pride.

"Is _that_ so? Will to do what? Keep hurting people? Yeah, you know what, we'll **see** about that. Listen, Diamond. I don't know what happened to your sister, but I have a feeling it's got something, if not _everything_ to do with _why_ you were shaking down avalanches on Snowbelle. I know you're not big on cooperation, and it's for that very reason you're locked up. But the sooner you tell me what happened to you to make you so **sour** towards the people of this town, the sooner I can _help_ you." The ranger stated, his tone actually taking on a ring of sincerity.

Diamond felt disgusted that he would even _suggest_ that she wanted his 'help'. Standing up from her laying position, she narrowed her beautiful eyes at him. "Help _me_? Why would _you_ want to help _me_? And even if you did, what makes you think I _need_ or _want_ such a thing?"

Gilliam's unamused look returned. "Want, maybe not, but _need_? That's a different story altogether. And I imagine Melody here would be pretty sad to see you stuck in that cell for the rest of your natural life."

The Glaceon began to retort, but stopped, when she saw the Eevee nodding in agreement with him. Whether she liked it or not, she was stuck there until she decided to cooperate, and all Melody wanted was to see her sister released.

"I can't believe you, Mel. This man is protecting the people who _hurt_ you. How can you agree with him so **easily**?" She asked her mute sister, "You should want nothing more than for them to _suffer_ …"

The cute, brown pokemon looked at the ground, as if feeling somewhat guilty, but Gilliam answered for her. "It's truly a shame that your sister can't speak, Diamond, because I believe _that's_ the reason you're misunderstanding her so _horrendously_. What exactly makes you think that revenge is what she _wants_?"

Diamond didn't hesitate in her answer, looking at the ranger as if he were an idiot for saying such a thing. "You don't know what they _did_ to her, you fool! You don't know the _extent_ of how she **suffered** at the hands of the man who caught her!" She proclaimed.

"No, I don't. Which is why I'm _trying_ to get you to _tell_ me." The man stated, simply.

This statement stood strong, silencing the ice-type momentarily. Averting her eyes from the strong, fiery ones of the ranger, she sat down in a manner fitting of a quadruped, looking at the ground as she considered what she was going to do.

"Look at me." Gilliam said, though in an oddly more concerned than commanding manner.

Diamond did not obey at first, but after a moment, she found herself burning with a curiosity as to how the man's expression had changed, and, almost shyly, her eyes trailed up to meet his.

" _Make_ me understand." He said.

The Glaceon took a period to study this man. Her enemy. Or _was_ he? The dark blues of the ranger's eyes spoke volumes to her, volumes of things she didn't want to believe. Was it possible that he was not _like_ other humans? Was he capable of understanding things, seeing them from her perspective?

"Fine. But don't get mad when you find out that everything I've done was _completely_ justified. I will **not** change my perspective on this matter. I've made up my mind on exactly what it is that needs to be done." She informed him, gazing into his eyes with an icy seriousness.

Gilliam's expression did not falter in the slightest. "Not asking you to change your mind. Asking you to tell me what happened." He clarified.

Licking her paw, the Glaceon groomed the shimmering fur atop her head, which almost resembled a crown of gorgeous azure ice, before sighing. "Very well then. It all started when my sister was taken away from me, captured by a man who went by the name of Larz…" She began.

*Flashback*

The snow came down as per the usual when the precipitation reached the right level, fluttering down in a rather beautiful cascade of flakes. However it's beauty was rivaled easily by the sweetness of a single song that cut through the harsh, wintry air.

"Even when the sun must set,

The night is **dark** but I won't fret~

Because _you're_ here with me _and_ that sun,

Will be back in the _mooorning_ come~" Sang a lone Eevee, perched upon a rock, her eyes closed and simply enjoying herself.

The harmonious notes of this humble melody made up for its simplicity with the affection and enthusiasm poured into each and every note. Anyone to hear the honey-like vocals of this little musical number would be hard-pressed not to marvel at the sheer amount of _love_ it exuded.

The Eevee was then playfully tackled by her sister, who'd already evolved into a Glaceon earlier that week. "Hehe, got you!" She giggled.

The Eevee tittered as well as they rolled around in the snow, playing with one another innocently. " **Hey** Diamond, I told you not to sneak up on me like that! Hey, that _tickles_!"

"It's easy to sneak up on you when you sing, silly! You block _everything_ out when you're doing that…" She reminded her, batting a paw against one of her ears.

Little did the two of them realize, they had an onlooker.

An older man in a bowler hat, probably in his late fifties, cased the two pokemon from a distance, with a pair of binoculars. Next to him was a Sawk.

"Alright, Gi. You can hear that song, right? _That's_ a voice worth a _million_ pokedollars. If we can catch that Eevee, we'll win the contest spectacular for _sure_. Then when she becomes famous, I'll be able to make even _more_. This is _my_ ticket to the big-time." The man chuckled, pulling out an Ultra Ball, and staring at it with a dark grin.

The Sawk, named Gi for his outfit, nodded, ready to obey his master regardless of his intentions. The particular brand of ball he was captured with had an extreme obedience rate, as the compliance regulators of these balls were more advanced and altered more of the initial capture data than that of most balls. In fact, in the Kalos region, this modification was _illegal_ , but there was no way to tell unless somebody were to actually take it apart, and even then they'd have to be a professional to know the difference.

"Alright then, don't attack until I give the word, and do _exactly_ as I instruct. If you knock the little one out, I won't be able to capture it properly, so don't screw up or you're **history** , got it?" The mustachioed man ordered, and Gi followed him in silence, perhaps shaking a bit with apprehension.

Diamond threw some snow in her sister's face. "I'm hungry. Want to help me hunt for something to eat?" she asked her younger sibling.

Melody shook the snow from her face, laughing amiably. "You _know_ I'm not good at that sort of thing, Sis. I can find some berries if you want, though?" She offered.

The Glaceon smiled, turning around to go stalk some prey, scampering a bit before glancing back. "Okay. I saw a group of Swinub really close to here, so I'm going to go see if I can catch one. You're pretty good at finding berries, so I'm sure you'll get lots and lots! Holler if you need me." She finished, trotting off into the snowy woods.

"Okay!" Melody said, before beginning to walk in the other direction.

Gilliam listened to the story, realizing already where it was going by the way Diamond had said 'little did I know.'

"So I'm guessing she got captured while you were out hunting?" He asked, turning to type some of her information into his computer, his face scrunched in concentration as he made an official report based on what she was telling him.

The Glaceon glowered as she remembered the sadness she felt upon returning with her captured meal, only to find her sister missing. "That's right. I must have been too far away for her to call out for help, because I never heard _anything_ , just came back with my kill to find her missing. I looked all over the place for her, but _nothing_. Try if you can to _imagine_ the **despair** I felt, not knowing if she'd just run off, or been eaten by larger predators while I wasn't around to protect her."

Melody frowned, the only one in the room capable of truly knowing what had _really_ happened, but being cursed with the inability to tell them.

Gilliam however knew she was still capable of answering yes or no questions. "Melody, is that when you were caught by the man called Larz?" He asked.

Shivering a bit at the mention of that name, she shyly nodded.

Saying nothing, the ranger continued to type up the report, the room being filled with the clatter of keypresses as he made sure to describe every detail.

"What are you doing?" The Glaceon then asked, feeling it rude that the man was not facing her as she tried to tell the story he was so insistent on hearing.

The man did not skip a beat in his work. "I'm detailing the things that you're both trying to tell me in a testimony file for future reference. Book-keeping is part of being an enforcer of the law. Now tell me how you ended up finding out what happened to your sister." He instructed.

Diamond was silent for a moment as she tried to comprehend what he meant by what he had said. She had never seen a computer before, and did not understand, but it was her best guess that he was making some kind of written document for other people in his position to read at a later time, so she wouldn't have to re-tell the story. Humans must have been more organized than she had first thought.

"At a certain point, I wised up and decided to go back to the last place I had seen her, to try and pick up her trail before the snow covered it up…" She began again.

*FLASHBACK*

Plagued with worry for her missing sibling, the Glaceon had just about given up trying to find her by calling for her, as she was receiving no answer. Nowhere in the forest, nowhere in their cave, _nowhere_ to be found at _all_ , she began to fear her beloved sister, the only friend she had in the whole wide world, had met with a terrible fate.

Deciding it best to try to retrace the Eevee's footsteps, Diamond moved back to the rock where she had been singing before, sniffing at the ground. Her eyes twitched, as she was met with an unfamiliar scent. She however could not identify where it was coming from, so she simply continued what she was doing.

Examining the snow, she saw the place where they had rolled around, and from there her own pawprints, and the tiny ones of her sister were easily visible to her eyes. Not wasting another moment, lest the trail run cold, the ice-type followed her sister's prints into the forest. She had gone on quite a walk. Noting the spots where the berries grew, she found that each of the good ones had Melody's pawprints near them in a standing position, shifted slightly as she had picked all those areas clean.

She continued to follow them a ways into the forest, when she noticed another set of footprints nearby…. No, _two_ sets.

One of the prints looked like they belonged to a pokemon she had never seen before, and the others were incredibly strange, looking like… some kind of object had been pressed into the snow, not a paw or foot.

Looking at them closer, she identified the pattern, noting that both of these prints were left by creatures that were bipedal. Then she remembered seeing humans before, and that they, as soft furless creatures, wore these artificial coats of different materials they crafted, to protect their fragile skin from the elements. Also their feet were always bound by some hard, strange casings. Shoes, she believed they called them.

A human and a strange pokemon, she thought. The footprint sets were close to one another, and both left around the same time. This was enough to let her know that _whoever_ they were, they were _together_. Noting that they had dipped behind the trees to a standing position every now and again as they went along the same direction as her sister's pawprints, she quickly came to the realization: they were _following_ her… in **stealth**.

She remembered the stories she'd heard from other pokemon, (namely her parents) warning of humans and their _magical_ devices, which they used for snatching up innocent pokemon and turning them into their _pets_. Sometimes they even would **force** them to _fight_ one another, in some sort of sick, _twisted_ sport… before her passing, her mother had always warned them to stay **away** from these creatures, lest the same happen to them.

Her eyes shrank with dread as a terrible fear welled up within her. "Oh no, Melody!"

She took off down the trail, following her sister's prints at a sprint now, eager to see where they led, praying to Arceus above that she would find her okay, or that there'd be enough evidence left for her to find out what exactly had happened, but as she came closer to where the sets of bipedal footprints met with the quadrupedal of her sister, she found a toppled tree blocking her path.

Taking a moment to examine the breaks in the bark, she immediately could tell it had not fallen naturally, but had been snapped by a powerful, blunt force.

" _No_ … no no **no** …!" she breathed, beginning to panic and hyperventilate.

There were signs of a struggle. Her sister's prints were all _over_ the place, spread out far enough that she could tell each time she moved she was running as _fast_ as she could, but there were spots at breaks in the snow with indentions roughly the size of her body, suggesting she had been knocked down _several_ times. Each time, the odd pokemon prints were close-by, at a loping distance apart from one another, suggesting that _whatever_ it was had given chase each and every time she fled.

"No, NO! This _can't_ be happening, oh **Melody** …." She began to cry, examining the prints further, struggling not to let the overflowing tears cloud her vision.

The human prints were always at a casual stride rather than a run, and always standing on the sidelines. As she followed her sister's trail, it came to a halt, and her heart sank to the very pit of her stomach as she stared at the final Eevee-shaped laying spot in the snow, as it was spattered with blood.

But… there was no body. No more Eevee prints. It was as if she just… _vanished_.

" _ **MELODYYYYYYYYYYYY**_!" She screamed to the heavens above, breaking down completely, into a pathetic pile of misery in the snow. She cried for a good few minutes before she finally stood up, and did the best she could to clear out her eyes.

Turning around, she noticed that the odd pokemon prints disappeared as well… but the human's prints…

She turned to look at the distance, in the very direction they casually lead away from the scene. On the horizon lay a place she and her sister _never_ ventured towards, as an odd number of humans had built things there, and they wanted little to do with it. All of her questions about her sister had been answered, except for the one… Was she _okay_?

"That… _human_ town. **Snowbelle** …" She quietly said to herself, having heard other pokemon talk about it before. Her eyes filled with determination.

Gilliam took a break from his typing, turning around in his revolving chair to look at the Glaceon, who had been telling her story in rather _intricate_ detail. He hadn't first thought her to be quite as intelligent as she really was, having lived in the wild all her life.

She stopped speaking as he stared at her, returning his gaze with one that was equally intense.

As they tried to see into one another's soul, Gilliam couldn't help but feel she was not as evil as her crimes indicated she might have been. Sure, there was a _darkness_ in her heart, but was it her _own_? Or was it something that was brought out of her by _another_? When he peered into those eyes, they reflected with the pride of somebody who truly believed they were in the right—he recognized _that_ quite easily after 10 years of being an RB Ranger.

"What are you looking at me like _that_ for?" Diamond spat, averting her eyes, almost as if in embarrassment. It was the first time the ranger had looked at her in a way that was not judgmental, and she hadn't been prepared for it.

The ranger brushed the question aside, however, turning to type his report out again. "It's nothing. So you managed to figure out your sister had been captured by following her trail. Your tracking skills seem like they're pretty good, so I imagine you found her pretty fast. Go on."

The Glaceon hesitantly continued her story. From that point on, it was only bits and pieces, as she had only managed to locate the man a few times, but each time she did, the presence of other humans trying to catch her forced her to retreat. The man was also wary of her, knowing she was after her sister, so whenever she revealed herself, he would put her back in the ball, and have his Sawk and several other strong pokemon ready to chase her off. He was very careful not to ever allow Melody out in the open when she was outside. From what she gathered, Melody had been completely brainwashed, and the man used her singing ability to make money in something called a 'contest spectacular' or some such thing. She said she'd wanted to follow them to those events, but they took place out of town, and the man always rode in some kind of human vehicle that she could not keep up with, and was always forced to return due to the fact that she could not tell his ride's trail apart from those used by other humans, and they always went very far in them.

She went on to mention that, after a while, the man had gained enough popularity that it became even _harder_ for her to get close to him, as he had hired other humans to watch over him and her sister, each of which carried a pokemon type she was weak against.

Gilliam couldn't help but feel his heart going out to her as she said things that truly made him feel pity. It was always 'I couldn't get to her because I wasn't _strong_ enough,' or 'She ended up _suffering_ because I wasn't paying enough _attention_ ,' or 'If _only_ I had been more _powerful_ , I could have _saved_ her'. Everything came back to the love of her sister, who she was certain was not herself during the time that she was captured.

"I can tell you that if your sister could sing, let alone _well_ , she would have made that man very famous in the contest scene. It's something like a talent show for pokemon, coordinated by their trainers. Winner gets a lot of prize money. You know what money is, right?" He asked, knowing she had been wild all her life, and currency might not have been a concept with which she was familiar.

"The metal pieces and scraps of paper you humans trade for goods and services." She said, showing that she was not quite _that_ under-informed, "The man who caught Melody was utterly _obsessed_ with it. In fact, the reason she can't speak now is because he abused her when she stopped being a good _source_ of that for him. She lost her voice one night when she was supposed to give an important show because he **overworked** her, and when she _failed_ to sing for the people, they all demanded what they had paid be returned to them. It was after that the man went ballistic, threw her to the ground, kicked her in the throat multiple times, and released her back into the wild, probably to prevent _me_ from coming around and bothering him anymore about her. Her _usefulness_ had been played out, so he _discarded_ her… like a piece of **trash**." She elucidated.

Gilliam was taken aback, and it showed in his expression when he stopped what he was doing, and once again turned to look at her in bewilderment. "But… if your sister had been rendered _mute_ , **how** on earth do you _know_ any of that?" He asked, wondering how any of that was logical, given what he knew.

For the first time since being captured, Diamond's muzzle curled slowly into a dark, almost sinister smirk. "Because, when she was _finally_ returned to me, and I found out she couldn't speak, I tracked that man down _personally_ , and lured one of his little pokemon **slaves** away with the smell of my _heat_."

Not expecting to hear this, the ranger's eyes shrank a bit, his cheeks filling with color.

The smirk deepened as she released a low, feminine chuckle, his embarrassment seeming to delight her in a twisted way. " _Fufufu_ , yes, that's _right_. It doesn't _have_ to always be an inconvenience for us girls, mister _lawbringer_ … it can also be a very _useful_ tool. But as I was saying… just when he thought he was about to get _lucky_ , I gripped his most precious part between my claws, and demanded that he tell me **why** Melody had gone _mute_."

The ranger audibly gulped, trying not to let it look like that disturbed him quite as much as it _really_ did. He knew she was vicious, but **that** was just plain _terrifying_.

"I uh… I imagine he told you everything he **knew** at _that_ point." He stated, before clearing his throat, as his voice appeared to be cracking for whatever reason.

The ice type licked her paws again, this time preening her tail in an almost _sensual_ manner, for the moment very pleased to be not only a girl, but a very pretty one. "I could tell you the man's _shoe_ size if you liked. Also, have _fun_ adding that part to your little 'report'." She giggled.

The hue of the man's blush deepened as she cleaned herself in a manner he had to try very _hard_ not to see as erotic. It didn't help that she _was_ , in fact, almost _impossibly_ attractive. Even if she _was_ a pokemon, he was no more immune to _raw_ beauty than any other creature.

However, the heat in his cheeks appeared to be a source of far too much amusement for her, so he simply averted his gaze, bringing up his information database, and clicking on the search function. "Eh…*Ahem* So let's start with the man's name… The full name, please."

"Laurence Alfred Rothschild." She stated, not stopping what she was doing, as her fur had become rather messy, and she rather liked it to be perfect.

Surprised to get even the man's middle name, he typed it into his computer, running a high-authority search for any kind of criminal records the man might have had, but turned up nothing. Either he had a clean record, or was well off enough to pay off all the right people to make it seem as such. "What did he look like?" He asked, extending his search to the internet.

"He was old. Hair graying, with big ugly whiskers coming out from beneath his nose. Unlike you, he didn't have a single bit of headfur. It was like he was ashamed of this, because he always wore something on his head… what's it called… a hat. A black hat. And he wore a coat of the same color, fastened at the center, with an odd thing tied to his neck, and tucked into it." She informed the ranger.

Gill found very little information on the man, though he _did_ turn up a social media account that had pictures matching her description. From what he gathered, the man was indeed very well off, having had multiple successes in the contest scenario all over not only Kalos, but Unova as well, which appeared to be the land in which he was born. Picking Melody up again, he set her in front of his computer screen, and enlarged the man's profile image so that she could see.

"Melody, is this him?" He asked.

She backed away from the screen, suddenly shaking. She however, after a moment, looked up at the ranger, and nodded.

Gilliam looked at her for a moment, before standing up and stretching. He had been seated for quite a while. "How long ago was it that she was captured, and how long ago was she released?" He then asked the Glaceon.

"Eight seasons since she was captured, and three or four since she was released." She answered, returning to a sitting position, her tail swaying behind her.

The hailcoat raised a hand to scratch his beard as he looked at the ground in deep thought. "So two years ago… I suppose that makes sense, since I have only been stationed here for about a year. Still, I've been here that long, and I've never seen or heard _anything_ about that man. It's possible that he doesn't even _live_ here anymore…" he mused.

Diamond had a _definite_ reaction to hearing this, her entire body jerking. Noticing this, he stared at her, to which she responded by making an effort to look like she didn't care. "…You… how can you _know_ that? He **has** to still be here. Where else would the old bastard have gone?"

For the first time since she woke up, Gilliam's countenance darkened, his typically kind and understanding face taking on a very different look, as it almost seemed like the light had disappeared from his eyes. "So… let me get this straight…" He began, moving towards the bars.

The Glaceon, seeing this change, suddenly felt unsafe, as she took a step back, sensing danger in the man's eyes.

He slammed his hands on the bars _hard_ , almost making the entire cell _quake_ , and making her jump back and squeak. " _You_..." he began shakily, "…unleashed not one, not two, but _THREE_ avalanches down onto this **WHOLE** town because of the wicked deeds of **ONE** man… AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IF HE GOT CAUGHT _**UP**_ IN IT!?" The ranger positively **roared**.

Retreating into the corner of her cell, the ice type began breathing very quickly, unable to explain the _fear_ she felt as he _looked_ at her like that. Normally she'd **never** fear a human, but something about that _look_ , his _tone_ of voice… it made her feel like **Arceus** himself was about to pass _judgment_ down upon her. "I… _I_ …! _You_ … you humans are all the _same_ though! Our mother _told_ us about you! You catch innocent pokemon and **force** them to do your dirty work! You're _all_ bad people! **ALL** OF YOU!" She screamed back, squinting her eyes shut as tears began to form.

The Ranger stood in grim silence for a moment as the tension in the room thickened further, his hands on the bars and head held close, eyes wide and unblinking as he simply glared at her with that same expression of righteous anger.

After a very long time passed with him standing there like that, he turned around, throwing his desk chair to the side, which caused Melody to flinch, as she jumped off his desk and scampered to the other side of the room, quivering.

Typing a few things into the computer, he turned to look at Diamond as he pressed a final button. With a mechanical clack, the machine that had blocked her ice beam stopped issuing it's buzzing as it was powered down, and with a loud whizzing noise, the cell bars automatically slid open.

Diamond's eyes grew to the size of plates, as she sat there, her mouth hanging open as she tried to process what had just happened. Though she was a pokemon and he a human, she felt an illogical fear that he was preparing to come _into_ the cell and _beat_ her into a bloody _pulp_. Stranger still, something in the back of her mind told her she… _deserved_ it.

The ranger, however, put the trench coat he had taken off and draped over the chair back on, before turning around, and began walking up the stair case, gesturing for her to come forth by pointing at the ground. "Out. **NOW**." He commanded. "You're coming with me this _instant_."

The ice type did not know what to do. Something told her she shouldn't try to escape. Every fiber of her being questioned what it was he was doing, what it was he was _going_ to do. "Wh-… What are you doing! WHAT, you want to _FIGHT_ ME **outside** , _huh_!?" She barked, making her best attempt not to sound like a frightened beast backed into a corner.

Gilliam's look darkened even more. "Don't be _stupid_. I'm **not** going to ask you _again_ , get **out** , and follow me right **now**. I'm going to be waiting outside. Melody will show you the way." He said, ascending the stair case further.

Diamond growled, her fur standing on end as she was ordered around like some kind of weakling. " **Stupid**!? _You're_ the one who's _stupid_! What makes you think I'd go _anywhere_ with **you**?!"

Looking at her with that same dangerous expression one last time, the ranger's visage almost in and of itself warned her that she'd regret not doing as he'd asked. "I _know_ you will." Was all he stated, before fully leaving the room.

After a long moment, the Glaceon stepped out of her prison, stomping the ground furiously. The fear she'd felt had dissipated when the ranger had stepped out of the area, and now she was just **angry**. Angry and _confused_. "The _NERVE_ of _that_ … that freakishly strong _human_! Ordering me around like I'm some kind of **pet** he's already captured and _enslaved_! He said _himself_ that I still had my free will, did he _lie_?! No, I still am myself, I **know** I am, I…" She trailed, as a soft brown paw set itself against her face.

Melody looked at her with large, wavering eyes. The touch of her sibling calming her down immediately, Diamond sat down, returning the look, trying to read her expression as her own eyes softened. "Melody…"

The Eevee closed her eyes, and shook her head in a very solemn manner, as if trying to tell her she needed to stop pitching such a fit. And just like that, the boiling rage of the Glaceon calmed. The storm had subsided with just a gentle touch and gesture.

Seeing that she had calmed, the Eevee again took her paw, and pointed in the direction the ranger had left, as if beckoning her to do as he said. Without waiting for a response, the mute pokemon walked calmly toward the staircase, turning her head to see if her kin was following.

"…M…Melody… are… are you _sure_?" She asked, truly wondering at this point if she had been misunderstanding the tiny pokemon's desires this _entire_ time.

The Eevee simply nodded, her expression not changing, and surprisingly calm for one as jumpy and shy as her, before hopping up the stairs.

With a whirlwind of emotions all struggling within her troubled soul for dominance, the ice type quivered, before following her sibling, trusting her implicitly.

*End Chapter 3*


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Do not own pokemon, of course. If you're not fond of pokephilia, people attracted to pokemon, or anything of the sort, please stop here and get out because I don't need to accumulate hate just because it's something I like reading and writing about. In this story pokephilia is not illegal and a fairly common practice, as pokemon have evolved to the point that they all speak English, eliminating the speech barrier—and realistically, that barrier is the only thing keeping it from being just as common as interracial or gay relationships, considering they're cute, intelligent, and sentient.

CHAPTER 4: "The New Leaf"

Edward spied his brother coming back from the detainment facility he had built in their basement as he was making himself something to drink in the kitchen, which was connected to it. Snowbelle didn't have any sort of jail or anything, so it was a necessary addition to their home when they moved there, as the law in that town, before that time, was arguably slack.

The young blonde took a sip of his milk, noting the grim look on his brother's face as he walked by, paying him no attention at the moment. "So how did it go? Was that Glaceon the reason that we've been having avalanches?" He asked.

The ranger stopped for a moment, but did not turn to look at him. "I'll talk to you about it later. Don't freak out when she comes past here." He stated plainly, before walking into the hallway.

Ed nearly spit milk all over the place. "You let her OUT!?" He choked.

Gilliam however, did not stop to listen. The next thing the boy heard was the front door opening. It did not sound like it had been shut.

The youthful chemistry wiz pulled an irate expression, wiping the white liquid from his chin. "I swear he is _way_ too trusting… I hope you know what you're _doing_ , big brother."

After saying this more to himself than anybody, Melody stepped up from the basement as well, turning to look at Edward, who she had quickly grown fond of. He was very kind to her, and his young innocence was something she could relate to. As she passed him following the hailcoat, she nodded cutely to acknowledge him.

Confused as to exactly what was going on, Ed simply waved at her, before a certain blue quadruped crossed the threshold as well, and for a long moment, the two of them simply stared at one another.

"Uh…. Hi." The boy said about as awkwardly as possible, a bead of sweat rolling down his brow.

Diamond looked at him, but something about her countenance suggested she didn't have the energy to deal with another random human at the time, so she ignored him, following her sister, both of them going in the same direction his elder brother had.

Edward was, as usual when it came to his brother's work, left in the dark as to what was going on. Used to it by now, he simply scratched his head and finished his beverage, before setting the empty glass in their sink, simply glad the ice-type hadn't seen fit to attack him or something, which he expected based on what he knew. Perhaps she wasn't to blame, he thought. Perhaps it had been a misunderstanding and his brother was releasing her. He, however, sincerely doubted that after they came back, with Mace out cold, X frozen, and his brother with a severely frostbitten arm.

Of course, X was thawed out and just fine, and Mace came to shortly after, and there was no permanent damage to his brother's right arm, which he appeared to be using just fine now, but still. He could be a _little_ more cautious at least, the boy thought.

Out in the fresh air of Snowbelle, Gilliam waited for the two pokemon as patiently as he could. The part of his heart that respected justice was the largest part of it, and it needed to be served. When somebody does something wrong and doesn't realize it, they need to be shown the error of their ways, and rehabilitated. He could only pray that he was _right_ about this one.

Diamond was like a _child_ , he thought. An **angry** child who didn't know how to act. It fell to _him_ to teach her right from wrong in this scenario, since apparently she didn't _know_ any better. And he knew _exactly_ what she needed to see in order to realize it.

Alerted by the sounds of soft pawpads crunching against snow, he turned to glance at the Eevee as she came out, and walked right up to him, sitting in the snow and looking first at the ranger, then to the still open front door of the McAllister residence.

Gilliam's gaze lay anchored in that direction as well, for a moment, but he grew impatient as the time dragged on. The girl must have been hesitating to come out because she knew she was about to face what she had done in the fullest sense. And even if she hadn't, he could tell by the way she reacted earlier that she could feel it, down to the very core of her being. All that was left to do was confirm it for her, so she no longer had an excuse to think that she did the right thing.

Timidly, a diamond-shaped, bunny-like ear poked out of the door, followed by her pretty face, which appeared to be very apprehensive. Looking around until she saw them, she stared at the man with a mixture of trepidation and bewilderment, frozen in place for the moment.

Gilliam stepped towards the door, grabbing it by the knob as he gestured for her to move out of the way. "Come on. You're letting all the heat out of my house."

Ears lowering and tail hanging between her legs at the prospect of obeying this man instead of making a run for it, the Glaceon did as asked, in utter silence. Had it not been for her sister's insistence, she'd have probably tried to escape, or even attacked the man.

No, she thought. Attacking _that_ man was no longer something she wished to do. She had underestimated him before, and that's why _he_ was the one in control. That, and something told her that despite his catching her and ordering her around, he was not actually a bad person.

'No,' She thought, again, her mind once more making a 180, 'He's just as bad as the rest of them. He's trying to fool me so he can turn me and Melody into his servants later...or…. or something.'

This line of thought was flawed though. If he was going to do that, he would have done so already, so _why_ was he letting her out, what did he _want_ with her out here?

She took an apprehensive stance as he turned to her from closing and locking his door.

The man simply glowered at her, his expression from before returning. With his golden headfur growing long in the back, and running down along the edge of his face and chin, it reminded her of a Pyroar preparing to pounce upon its prey. "I _told_ you. I didn't bring you out here to fight with you. There's not going to **BE** any more _pointless_ bloodshed, Diamond. Don't you think you've made enough mistakes already?" He warned.

Mustering up her courage, the Glaceon became indignant, insulted that he felt the right to call her by her name, and the audacity to tell her flat out that she was the one who was wrong here. "I'm only _doing_ this because Melody **wants** me to! Now _tell_ me what we're doing out here, since you don't want to _fight_." She demanded to know.

Gilliam turned around and began walking. "Follow me if you want to find out." He stated, flatly.

Stomping the snow and growling, Diamond was quickly beginning to get upset again, when her sister rubbed her body up against hers consolingly, to calm her down. When their eyes met again, the Eevee shook her head once more, then pointed in the direction the ranger had walked, before following him at an even pace.

Begrudgingly, the Glaceon did the same. She would do anything for her sister, even if it meant doing something that could end up getting them both enslaved. If it's what she thought needed to happen, she couldn't argue. It was very rare that Melody, since losing her voice, ever tried to tell her to do something.

A short walk later, the ranger led them to the outskirts of the Snowbelle, a little area set aside from the main group of buildings, on a little outcropping that overlooked the town. There you could see many stones lined up evenly, many of which were engraved, some even having little pictures and flowers set close to them.

Diamond had never seen a graveyard before, and was confused at first, however, two humans stood next to one of the stones, both of them in a kneeling position. They were both female, one older, and the other just a little girl, who couldn't have been more than 6 years old.

Their eyes were closed, and hands clasped.

"Arceus in heaven, please let my husband and our beloved pokemon find peace in death. May your kingdom be a better place for them, and allow them to live with you in happiness as they once again become one with the universe…" The older woman prayed.

"Mommy… why did Arceus take away daddy and Patches?" The little girl asked, opening her eyes, which began to tear up.

The mother stopped what she was doing, setting a photo of their family against the headstone, which read 'Here lies a father and a husband, and a pokemon more gentle and sweet than words could ever describe. They brought joy to us in life, and despair to us in death. May they walk with our creator in paradise, til the day we might see their kind faces once more.'

The photo was of a man holding up the little girl, both of them laughing. On the girl's head was a Pachirisu, who was quite possibly even more jubilant as it cuddled against the girl's head lovingly. They looked truly… _happy_.

Diamond's heart dipped as she realized what this area was, and _why_ exactly she had been brought here.

The mother put her hand on the little girl's head, her eyes watering a bit as she tried to find the words to explain things to her daughter in a way she'd understand. "Arceus didn't take them _away_ , sweetheart… he merely took them _back_. We _all_ belong to Arceus, Mint. One day we'll all _return_ to him."

The little girl began to sniffle. "Then… why couldn't we go _with_ them!? I _loved_ daddy, and I _loved_ Patches! She was the best friend I **ever** _had_! I want to go back to Arceus _now_! I want to _see_ them!" She blubbered, beginning to bawl, not even truly realizing what she was saying.

The mother quickly pulled the little girl into her arms, shushing her. "I do too, sweetheart… I do _too_ … All in due time, though. We'll see them _again_ one day, I promise…" She said with a quivering voice, breaking down as well.

The Glaceon's eyes widened, as the full weight of the situation struck her like a focus blast. Her breathing became short, as her heart _sank_ to the very **depths** of her soul. Everything else went silent, there was nothing in the world but that little girl and her mother.

Seeing them reminded her of herself when she used to cry to her own mother about things, and she would be hushed in much the same manner. She asked the same question when their father had died. The _exact_ same question. 'Why did Arceus take my daddy away?'

And not only her father, but her best friend? Was she _really_ best friends with a _pokemon_? It wasn't a _slave_ , but a _friend_? It wasn't a _pet_? How could a child of such a tender age _lie_ about such a thing? They didn't _know_ any better!

She looked at the photo placed against the headstone. Nothing about the pure bliss displayed in this image suggested there was anything between those people and that pokemon other than pure, innocent joy. It exuded love. Passion. Happiness.

Was she… _Did_ she…?

Take that… _away_ from them?

"They were both killed in the first avalanche, while working on a new schoolhouse, so that little girl could get a better education. It wasn't finished yet, so it couldn't withstand the force of the impact. Everyone inside was crushed to death by the debris. That man's name was Roman, and he was one of the nicest men I've ever met. One of 8 other people just like him, and 7 other pokemon. I would see Mint outside playing with that Pachirisu, just giggling like they were the only two creatures in the whole wide world, every single day." Gilliam stated, folding his arms, his expression of virtuous judgment never changing, as his eyes didn't stray from the headstone. He didn't bother saying anything else, simply allowing Diamond to take in the scene before them.

The Glaceon watched the two humans cry in each other's arms for another short moment, before tears of her own streamed down her eyes, freezing immediately, as little balls of ice hit the snow. She suddenly lost the strength to stand, falling to her knees. (or the joints of her legs, in a manner that quadrupeds lay)

"But… but _I_ … B-but…" She sobbed, mind racing to find a way to justify her actions.

"It _hurts_ , doesn't it? Knowing you were _wrong_. This isn't even the tip of the iceberg. Some of the people you killed were _doctors_. Some of the people you killed were husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers. Sisters and brothers. And for _what_? A man who quite possibly wasn't even _here_? This is what seeking vengeance _does_ , Diamond. It **destroys**. There is _no_ satisfaction. Only _despair_. How does that despair _taste_?" He went on to say, his eyes ablaze with a lionhearted righteousness as the ice-type was breaking down.

"Oh _Arceus_ …" She whimpered, as Melody nuzzled against her, also in tears.

She began to wish that the human's punishment for her had indeed been as simple as being beaten to a bloody pulp. Nothing could have been more terrible, more **painful** than _this_.

For a long time, she just sat there, watching the two humans in silent anguish, as tears persisted in falling quietly from her beautiful eyes. She continued to watch them as they passed by, both of them greeting Gilliam, and thanking him for everything he had done for the town in the avalanches, saying they probably wouldn't have made it if he hadn't been there.

The man simply told them such thanks were not necessary, as it was his _job_ to protect them from such things, and he would _continue_ to do so. He apologized sincerely for not being able to save their loved ones, and they teared up again, the little girl giving him a hug and the mother telling him it wasn't his fault.

Gilliam did not, however, tell them that the _reason_ their loved ones had passed was sitting right there _next_ to them. The couple paid neither the Glaceon or her sister any attention, thinking they'd also simply come to pay their respects, and just like that, the people left to go back to the safety of their now broken home.

After watching them leave, the ranger folded his arms again, turning to look at the ice-type not unlike a highly disappointed parent. She looked back at him this time, her eyes having lost some of the light that had been in them, unblinking pools of regret, leaking down to stain her face.

She did not say anything to him. She no longer had anything _to_ say. She simply stared at him, a shameful husk. It was so _clear_ to her now, that what she'd done… it was… _evil_.

For the next week, Diamond laid in her cell, almost as lifeless as a corpse. She had never been told to return to that spot. When they had returned to Gilliam's home, she silently shuffled her way back to that room, and went there of her own accord, and laid in the corner with a look of utter emptiness.

The ranger never bothered to close the cell door, as he knew it wouldn't be necessary. He had seen good people do bad things without realizing it before, and the magnitude of what she did, he knew, may very well haunt her for the rest of her life.

It was another day just like the last. Coming down the stairs, the man spied her laying lifelessly in that very same spot, carrying a plate laden with a generous helping of breakfast sausages.

When he saw her like that, he felt great pity for what had become of her. Only someone truly kind inside would be affected by regret of a misdeed so strongly, even if it was a very destructive and large misdeed.

Coming down the stairs, he entered the cell before taking a knee, setting the plate of delicious smelling food down next to her. "You're wasting away. You need to eat." He told her, nudging her with his hand, and frowning. She'd let her fur become matted and messy.

She showed no reaction to his touch. "I don't deserve to eat." She said, weakly, in an almost robotic voice.

The man frowned, his features taking on a look of genuine concern. He pushed the plate in front of her face, so that she could catch a whiff of the aroma it permeated with. Perhaps it would bring her appetite back. She simply rolled over to look in the other direction.

"Your sister is worried about you. _I'm_ worried about you…" He told her, sincerity painting his voice.

"I don't deserve your pity, either." She commented, full monotone.

"Then _stop_ acting so _**pitiful**_. There's no _point_ in just letting yourself _die_ because you feel like you _deserve_ it. If that's the way it was, then everyone would just die the first time they made a mistake in their life. You need do **suck** it up, and **do** something to make amends rather than just sitting here and wallowing in _despair_. I _mean_ it, **EAT**." He commanded, grabbing one of the sausages and pushing it against her face.

She knocked his hand away sluggishly with a paw. "Just go away." She sighed.

A pitter-patter from the staircase indicated Melody's coming down into the room, to check on her sister. She had sat in the cell with her the first three days, but since having no success in cheering her up, she had decided to sleep in a different room, as seeing her like this tore her heart apart. She however, would not give up on her.

The Eevee stepped into the cell and picked up one of the sausages with her mouth, trying to do the same thing Gilliam had, but Diamond simply turned away again.

"Leave me alone." She told them.

"If I leave you alone, and you waste away to nothing, then everything that happened will be a conclusive tragedy all around." The RB Ranger informed her.

"There's nothing tragic about one less killer in the world." She countered, gloomily.

"Oh really, besides the fact that Melody will have no more sister, right?" Gill insisted. The Eevee nodded in agreement with him.

"I don't deserve her as a sister. And she deserves better than me." Diamond claimed, drearily.

For a long moment, the human and eevee simply exchanged looks of pity.

"Diamond… _please_ eat." The ranger begged.

"…" She was silent. She had not expected him to use that word. Did he _really_ care?

The man sighed, standing up. "I _understand_ how you feel right now. Regret is a **tough** thing to deal with. Don't think I haven't been in the same spot before. 10 years ago, my partner, Locke died because of _me_. But I didn't fall into some kind of _depression_. I pushed myself to be better because of it. I pushed myself to become the kind of person that would _never_ make a mistake like that _again_ , and I've spent every day of my life since then repenting for it. You think I don't want to crawl into a hole and just **die** when I think about it? He was the _best_ Lucario anyone could ever ask for… and he died trying to help me because I went in over my head. And I didn't even notice until it was too late. You don't _have_ to be like this. You can make things _right_. You can honor those you killed by _helping_ people. It's _never_ too late to change your ways. But this isn't the right path… This is just going to lead to an even _bigger_ spiral of darkness for you and the people who care about you." He explained to her.

Though it might not have seemed like it, she listened to this story. Another human who loved a pokemon like a brother, like one of their _own_. And he was the reason he died? To her, it sounded like it actually wasn't his fault at _all_ , so why would he _blame_ himself like that? Why take the full weight of that guilt onto his shoulders when he didn't even do anything wrong? And how did he move on so _easily_? Was he truly so much _stronger_ than she was?

And why did he… _save_ her? This final question, even given her depression, was something she had to know. And she knew how she could find out.

Suddenly, she sat up, and looked at the man. "I will eat on one condition." She said, plainly.

Gilliam's eyes shrank in surprise, and he sat on the ground immediately, scooting closer to her, praying that she was serious. "Name it!"

For a moment she studied the man. His eyes were the deepest of blues. What was it that gave him such strength of character? What pushed him to be so morally just? What drove him to be so kind? She could not figure this out by simply staring at him. Rather, he became more of a mystery the longer she looked.

"Why didn't you file the report… Gilliam?" She asked.

The man was utterly taken aback at hearing her actually call him by his name. It was the first time she had done so… and what's more… "…How did you…?" He trailed.

"I overheard you talking about it to your brother. He was scolding you for deleting the report. You said if you filed it to the authorities, I'd be executed." She elucidated.

That was in the other room entirely—her hearing must have been much better than he'd first thought. He however, did not have an immediate answer, and sat there, bewildered that she had known about it all this time.

Her eyes blinked several times, but her expression did not change. "Why would you spare my life, when I spared the lives of _none_?" She asked again. "If you want me to eat, **tell** me."

"…Because good people don't deserve to _die_ , regardless of what they've done. Not when they still have a chance to make it better." He answered after a long moment.

She did not seem satisfied with this answer, rather only confused. "There's nothing I could _ever_ do to make up for this… and I'm not good, nor am I a person. I'm a bad pokemon."

"Person, pokemon, what the hell's the _difference_?" The ranger said, making a gesture with his hands for added emphasis. "We both feel, live, bleed, hurt, and die just the same. As far as I'm concerned there is **no** difference between you and I. And there is _good_ in you, I can _see_ it." He insisted.

Diamond did not know how to react to this, feeling an oddly large amount of blood rush to her face. Did he just tell her he viewed them as _equals_? And what good could he possibly see in _her_ after the things that she had _done_? It didn't make any _sense_. "You are breaking the _law_ by keeping what I did a secret, Gilliam. You could lose your _job_." She reminded him, her expression beginning to take on a look of shame as she averted her eyes from his.

"I don't care. Sometimes the _legal_ thing to do and the _right_ thing to do aren't the same." He explained. This was something he knew from being RBR for so long. Always, he followed his heart, and not orders. It's just the way that he was.

Staring at the ground in deep thought, she felt the sudden, inexplicable urge to look him in the eye once again, and she didn't know why. Slowly, she trailed her gaze back to his. "…How… _How_ can one atone for the kind of things I've done…?" She asked him. Could he really tell her how to do that? Was it even _possible_? Could he be her salvation in more ways than one?

The man simply smiled very warmly at her, pushing the plate of food towards her once more. "You could start by _eating_ something." He chuckled.

The heat came to her face once again. It was an odd feeling, warm and alien to an ice-type such as herself, and she didn't want to think about it, so she simply nodded, and tucked into the food without any more resistance. She was in fact starving, and it showed with how quickly she cleared the plate.

The RB Ranger and Melody looked at one another, with very pleased expressions. It was the beginning of a new leaf.

The week had gone by in an odd fashion, and before Ed knew it, things were, for the most part, back to normal. He didn't honestly approve of his brother's decision to delete the report stating that the Glaceon had been the one causing the avalanches, instead filing a false report that the weather had been inclement due to a cold front caused by other pokemon on the mountain, which caused an excess of snow to build up. The final version stated that it had all been unintentional, and that it was in the process of being taken care of as these pokemon were being relocated.

It was not that he didn't _like_ the ice-type (despite the fact that she kind of scared him), and he _did_ in fact trust his brother's judgment, but his _job_ was at stake when he made such decisions, and the last thing the boy wanted to see was him being removed from the RBR, as then the two of them would have little to no income, were that to happen.

Adjusting a white beanie with a pokeball design, the boy picked up a few frozen TV dinners he liked from the appropriate section in the Snowbelle market area, doing a bit of shopping, which was one of his monthly chores, as Gilliam did not typically have the time to do it himself.

He sighed as he tried to think of the types of things a Glaceon and Eevee would eat. He imagined that they would be putting them up for a while, but the Glaceon had not been eating, so he didn't know what she liked. Using his phone, he did an internet search on their eating habits, and found that they were in fact omnivorous, preferring red meats and were particularly fond of Lum berries.

This struck him as odd. Lum berries were plentiful in this region, but they were hard and nearly flavorless, almost bitter. They were extremely good for you, though, and were used in the creation of full-heals. The website he brought up claimed they liked chewing on them to sharpen their teeth or some such thing, and to bolster their immune systems for the harsh weather they like to live in.

While he was there, he picked up a bag of these fresh from the produce section, and a few other types of berries he found Melody to be very fond of. Her favorite was Nanab berries, but she also had a love for Kelpsy berries. Both of these berries were very hard to find in this area, and hence expensive, but he threw a few of them into the cart as well, just generally pleased in seeing her happy face whenever he fed her something she truly loved. She was a very cute pokemon. Her muteness was strange, but somehow endearing, and for whatever reason she seemed to be more comfortable around him than she was with other people, which made him feel good about himself.

When he was moving up to the checkout, Edward ran into Mace, who waved at him with a gentle smile, pushing his glasses up in the way that he does. "Hey, Ed. Doing your shopping for this month already?" He asked.

The platinum blonde nodded. "Yeah, food ran out faster since we've got extra mouths to feed. You'd be surprised how much an Eevee can eat. Where's X?" He asked, noticing the Xatu wasn't around.

The hailcoat switched the hands he was carrying his groceries in—it was a small basket rather than a cart, because he preferred to buy things on the weekly as opposed to monthly. "He's at the pokemon center for a checkup. He had some stiffness returning from when he was frozen that's caused some discomfort in his wings, so I dropped him off there before coming here to get a couple of things. Is the Glaceon still refusing to eat?" He asked.

Edward sighed. "To my knowledge, yeah. She was really tore up when Gilliam showed her how much destruction she caused for the families around here. I honestly think it would be better for everyone if he'd just-"

Mace silenced the boy by putting a finger to his mouth, his expression changing to one of surreptitiousness, as he looked over his shoulder down the aisle. "You'd do well not to talk about that here. In fact, I'd suggest you just forget about it altogether. I understand how you feel, but you have to promise me that you'll just trust Gilliam on this. He's never wrong about these things." The black-haired man informed him.

When the finger was removed from his lips, Ed frowned. "I _do_ trust him, you know I do. But sometimes I just think he goes a little too far and risks a little too much when it comes to this sort of thing." He argued.

The RB Ranger put his free hand to his hip, cocking his head. "I've only been an RB Ranger for 2 years, but your brother has kept secrets for me just as I have for him. The man's a better judge of character than anybody I've ever met. If he says Diamond has good in her, then she does. You need to be patient and give him time to bring that goodness _out_. Who knows, you might even grow to like her?" He chuckled.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Not nearly as much as my brother does, I can tell you that right now. You should _see_ the way he watches her down in the basement, just stares at her for hours on end, trying to talk her into eating something."

The older man adjusted his glasses once more, which flashed. "Well, Glaceon's a very pretty eeveelution. And your brother has… _interesting_ taste in women." He joked, causing Ed to laugh.

"Haha, _I'll_ say. But _you're_ one to talk. At least my brother doesn't have his own personal _fanclub_." He prodded.

The man sweatdropped at that, not having an immediate comeback. "Touché." He sighed.

It was a well-known fact that Mace, with his youthful face, well-groomed ebony hair, and thin, toned physique, was an incredibly attractive man. Since being posted in Snowbelle with Gilliam a couple of years ago when he first joined the RBR, he had unintentionally generated a bit of a cult following, mostly starry-eyed teenage girls, and even some pokemon, who all drooled over him, followed him all over the place, and affectionately referred to him as 'senpai'. Some of them were harmless. Others were full-on stalkers.

"Anyway, you don't have to worry about the whole Glaceon thing. Just because I don't _agree_ with my brother's decision doesn't mean I don't respect it." Edward made sure to clarify.

"The best way you can _show_ that respect is by not talking about it. You never know who's listening to such things, and with the avalanches having caused so much destruction, it's a very _touchy_ subject with folk around here. You'd be wise to just keep your mouth shut about it." The man went on to say.

"Alright, alright," the boy conceded, making a swearing gesture with his hand, "You won't hear another word about it out of me, scout's honor."

Mace stared at him for a moment, as if judging whether or not he was being honest, then, seeing that he was, he smiled. "Good. Now… you're about to finish shopping, right? Mind if I tag along with you back to your place? I have things I need to talk with your brother about. I'll help you carry stuff if you like." He offered.

Edward nodded, knowing the ranger would just end up coming anyway, and that would just be throwing away free help with one of his chores if he said no. "Sure, I have a lot of groceries to lug back, that would be really helpful. Just let me grab a few more things and we'll go check-out."

After the two had taken care of the things they needed within the grocery store, they stood in line and purchased their food and sundries, then walking out into the cold, wintry air, they moved towards a couple identical snow-mobiles fitted with some large, basket like containers for carrying things. The RBR insignia with the Hail forme of Castform from Mace and Gilliam's trench coats were painted onto the sides. These were useful when it came to shopping—though Snowbelle was not a very big town, sometimes trudging through as much as 5 feet of snow with lots of goods could be a rather cumbersome task.

Mace set his things in his own basket rather quickly, then began helping Edward. The snow-mobiles were assigned to members of the RBR stationed in Snowbelle for certain rescue work, but they didn't typically use them for very much, considering X made traveling around the town in short to medium distances pretty easy and a lot more efficient, but it was still nice to have them.

"Alright, then, Ed," The spectacle wearing man said, patting his hands together, "Let's get going, if you don't mind." He said, turning around. It was clear the man was in a hurry.

Edward leaned against his brother's snow-mobile, his mirth rising as he knew exactly why the man was in such a rush. "Eager to get on the move, huh? You almost sound scared of something." He laughed.

Mace became deadly serious all the sudden, pushing his glasses up as his shoulders stiffened. "That's not funny, Ed. You know good and well that I-"

The man was however, interrupted as something, completely out of nowhere, jumped him from behind his vehicle, landing in his arms bridal-style.

"Kyu!" It called.

"Wha-what the!?" the hailcoat stammered, almost dropping the person to the ground in surprise.

"Senpai! You caught me! Aren't you sweet?" A small, feminine looking Braixen called, comfortably situated in his arms.

"B-B-B-Branch!? Where the _heck_ did you come from!?" Mace demanded to know, his face paling as if he'd seen a ghost, sweat suddenly pouring down his face by the bucket.

The Braixen simply giggled, grabbing his head and licking him right on the face, making his glasses go crooked as his face took an impossible hue of red. "Don't be silly, I've been out here waiting for you the whole time! As if I'd lose track of my future trainer and mate!" She declared, little hearts flying off of her head in every direction.

Ed simply watched the scene unfold casually, like it happened every single day. He fished a candy bar out of his basket that he'd bought for himself, and began eating it like he was snacking on something at a movie theater. "That's pretty slack, Mace. You _know_ she keeps track of your scheduled shopping days. Even _I_ noticed her hanging around out here when I first showed up." He commented, dryly.

Branch tittered giddily. Nobody knew where she had come from, or where she lived in Snowbelle, as most fire types could not tolerate the cold. She did not appear to have any sort of trainer, at least that's what she claimed, and just showed up from time to time, stalking Mace with the rest of his groupies. She however, was one of the most persistent and love-declaring of the group, and chased the poor man everywhere he went. People didn't know if she had an actual name or not, so everyone just called her Branch, because the stick she carried tucked in the fluff of her tail still had a few leaves hanging off the tip.

She was arguably adorable regardless, having a flat chest like most of her breed, although she did have some rather thick black-furred thighs that left little to be desired. And, unlike most Braixen, her red-orange ear-fluff hung down at past shoulder length, and was wavy, looking similar to hair.

"I told you I'm not going to catch you Branch. I don't even own the right kind of pokeball." Mace coughed awkwardly, setting her down, to which she pouted at first.

Nevertheless, she donned a cute smirk. "Whatever are you talking about Senpai, I have my ball right here?" She squeaked, pulling out a regular red and silver pokeball, as if from nowhere. Though a normal ball, it had been decorated with stickers of hearts and flowers, almost to the point of impeding functionality.

Mace sweatdropped. "Branch… _who_ did you steal that from?" He asked, his expression utterly priceless. It was of course not legal for pokemon to buy such things.

The Braixen winked, a little star shooting out of it as she did a pose. "Kyukyukyu! _You_ bought it master! The registration wouldn't _work_ if you didn't!" She informed them.

The black-haired man facepalmed. "Yeah, that's _real_ cute, Branch, but stop playing around. We both _know_ you couldn't have done that without either me being there or my trainer car-…"

The man stood there as he was stared down in the face by a perfect replica of his trainer card, all the information completely accurate, held tightly in the proud angel white paws of the tweeny pokemon.

"….Branch…" Mace began. "Did _you_ …?" he trailed.

She made a peace sign. "I _FORGED_ it! Kekeke!" She tittered madly.

Mace hit the snow in a full on faceplant immediately, twitching.

"Wow. That's what I call _dedicated_ stalking." Edward felt the need to state, scratching his head as he finished his candy. "I bet you she already caught herself with it too, considering pokemon can jump out of their balls when they want unless the safety's on. I guess that technically means she's _your_ pokemon now."

Mace jumped up and started messing up his hair comically. " **WHHHHHHAAAT**!?"

Branch did a cute pirouette, winking once again. "That's right! Me and master are going to be together **FOREVER**!" She declared.

The hailcoat, however, acted quickly in snatching the ball from her paws, and held it towards her. "Return!" He said. The stasis field immediately shot out of the ball, and enveloped her.

"Kyuuuuu~!" She squealed, as she was returned to the ball she had illegally registered to her senpai.

Mace then chucked the ball into the nearby woods, and jumped on his Snow-mobile, looking at Edward pleadingly. "Come on, let's go before she gets out. I didn't turn the safety function on. Hurry up before the rest of them get here." He said, starting up the vehicle with a few revs of the handle.

Edward jerked his thumb in the direction of a large group of teenage girls and a couple of pokemon that all gathered around his brother's snow-mobile, just standing there watching. "They've been here since like a minute ago. I know Gill said you were easy to sneak up on, but _man_ …" the boy mentioned, shaking his head.

Mace stared at the group for a humorously long moment, before taking off top speed on his snow-mobile.

"Hey!" Ed grunted, getting shoved into the snow as two or three of the girls quickly confiscated his own ride and revved it up, giving chase as the rest of them ran in pursuit, screaming 'come back senpai!'

Picking himself up off of the snow, he patted himself off, grumbling at the whole thing like it was just a minor inconvenience. "I _knew_ I should have just taken all the groceries back by myself…" He groaned.

One girl from the group, however, had stayed, standing creepily close to the boy. He didn't notice her until she put a cold hand on his shoulder, her pale expression never changing.

"Don't worry, they'll bring it back once they catch him." She said in a low, spooky voice.

The boy nearly jumped out of his snow-shoes. " **ARCEUS**!" He snorted.

The girl showed no reaction to his fright, merely standing there and staring at him with large, almost hollow violet eyes. Though pretty as a picture, the girl's big, empty eyes and long and curly, unkempt purple hair made her seem a bit like the kind of girl you'd expect glaring at you from a dark corner in some kind of horror film.

"Jeez, Carrie, you scared the _hell_ out of me!" Edward sighed, just trying to catch his breath. The girl simply grinned lopsidedly at him, which somehow made her even creepier.

"It's okay, Ed. If they lose any of your groceries, I will put a black curse on them so that they will never have children." She promised, holding a white finger to her lip as she cocked her head, probably in an attempt to be cute.

Ed sweatdropped, backing away from the girl slightly as he struggled not to let his expression suggest he was deeply disturbed by that remark. "Uh… nah, that's okay. I think Mace will probably bring the stuff by my place later anyway, I mean… it's not the _first_ time this has happened."

The girl moved her face uncomfortably close to his. "Are you sure? Maybe it should be something worse?" She stated, pulling out a straw voodoo doll, which already had a tuft of hair and needles stuck into it, "Their fates are mine to control. They think they can have senpai all to themselves… selfish wretches. I will have one of them bring your snow-bike back, and then…" She pulled out a pair of ridiculously large shears, and held them up to the head of the doll, threatening decapitation with a dark grin.

Flustered by this, Ed quickly took the enormous scissors away from her, breathing a sigh of relief when she simply allowed him to do-so. "No! NO, that's… uh, that's alright, _really_ Carrie. Maybe you should just…" He trailed.

The girl stared at him in much the same way she stared at everyone. Everybody in Snowbelle was terrified of her, calling her things like 'hex girl' behind her back, because it was no secret that she hung around with ghosts at the graveyard, spoke to spirits, and had quite a few ghost-type pokemon, which were probably her only real friends. Of course, knowing that she dabbled in the dark arts, no one would dare try to offend the girl to her face. People that did ended up meeting an 'unfortunate end' nine times out of ten.

"A black crow…" she suddenly stated, her eyes waxing over and looking even more like a horror film for a moment.

Before Ed had time to react, he was swooped down upon by a Murkrow, which cawed clamorously, snatching against the boy's hair, as if trying to grab something. "Ow, bug off you stupid bird!" He shouted, swinging at it as it flew around him, and then taking off.

He and Carrie stared at it as it flew into the distance, still cawing loudly and annoyingly.

"What a terrible omen…" The girl stated flatly. "You should be careful." She told him.

Readjusting his beanie, the boy made a gesture to suggest it was probably nothing. He didn't believe in things like omens, his mind was purely scientific and logical. "Nah, it's no big deal. It was probably just trying to steal my hat. See, the pokeball design is stitched in with a shiny thread. Murkrow go nuts for that sort of thing." He explained.

The girl merely blinked at him a couple of times, her expression utterly empty as always. "Your funeral." She added, simply. The boy felt a chill run up his back as she said this.

On the outskirts of the town, a silhouetted figure with pink eyes sat hidden amongst the snow-topped pine-trees, holding a pair of binoculars, having watched the scene unfold from afar, in stealth.

The Murkrow landed next to this figure, who held out a small vial. "Good job, now put that sample in here please." It stated, in a sultry, feminine voice.

The small bird complied, depositing a few strands of blonde hair into the vial with its talons.

"Rumors are the boy is very smart, Raaaaahk." The bird informed in a scratchy, irritating voice.

The shadowy figure moved an appendage that did not appear to be hair out of her face, adjusting a large hat emblazoned with a big, red R. " _Excellent_. We'll just have to see what kind of genetic material he can bring to the table…"

With that, the two disappeared into the foliage, with a speed and precision that were not remotely human.

*End Chapter 4*


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Do not own pokemon, of course. If you're not fond of pokephilia, people attracted to pokemon, or anything of the sort, please stop here and get out because I don't need to accumulate hate just because it's something I like reading and writing about. In this story pokephilia is not illegal and a fairly common practice, as pokemon have evolved to the point that they all speak English, eliminating the speech barrier—and realistically, that barrier is the only thing keeping it from being just as common as interracial or gay relationships, considering they're cute, intelligent, and sentient.

CHAPTER 5: "Chest Out, Tail Up"

The Glaceon lay in her cell, grooming her fur, which had become unkempt in the time she had spent moping about. Watching her do this, Gilliam averted his eyes when she came to certain… parts of her body he couldn't be comfortable with watching her lick. He was however, happy to see her keeping up with cleanliness, at least. It was a step in the right direction for her recovery, which would hopefully lead to her reintegration into the wild, or, if she wished, society.

"You don't have to spend your time in that cell, you know. I've taken care of everything as far as the brass goes. You don't have to worry about being seen out in the open." He explained to her, just feeling kind of awkward in keeping her there, despite what she had done.

"It doesn't matter. The only reason I'm even still _here_ with you is because you know what I have to do to make amends for the terrible things I've done. And you can help me find _that_ man." She stated, simply, only removing her mouth from herself to speak.

The RB Ranger frowned at this. "You're _still_ set on revenge even after _all_ of that?" he asked.

She looked at him with big blue eyes, blinking a few times, before resuming what she was doing. "Not necessarily 'revenge'. Think of it as 'preventing him from hurting anyone else.' That's your job, isn't it?" She retorted, actually making a rather decent point.

Her argument, was however flawed. "My _job_ is to protect the people and pokemon where I'm _stationed_ , and if he's not in Snowbelle or anywhere in the vicinity, it's outside of my jurisdiction. I would have to obtain some kind of authorization, and if I asked about him, it would bring up questions. Questions that could put _both_ of us in trouble if they were answered truthfully."

"Then just _don't_ answer them truthfully." She suggested.

The dusty blonde couldn't believe how quickly her attitude had come back, and sighed in exasperation. "As much as I'd like to, it's not that simple. I've already come up with quite a ridiculous fabrication just filing that false report. How the hell am I supposed to come up with a legitimate-sounding reason to take leave of Snowbelle just to track this guy down when any of the other RBR or police in that area could apprehend him just the same? Besides, I'd need some kind of proof that he's a criminal, and we have none."

The Glaceon ceased her groomings, holding her head up to look the man in the eye for a moment. "What about Melody?" She said. "If it's evidence that you need, she's right _there_." The ice-type indicated, wagging her head in the direction of her sister.

The Eevee's ears drooped. It was clear she was not enthusiastic about getting involved with Larz again in any way, shape, or form.

Gilliam folded his arms. "That would be _easy_ if she could speak, of course. What do you expect her to do, draw them a _picture_? Stuff like that doesn't go very far as incriminating evidence in a court of the law, Diamond. Besides, if anyone were to get suspicious about the avalanches, and found out that you were her sister, well, there are plenty of detectives that wouldn't have a hard time drawing up a conclusion there based on your motive."

Diamond scoffed, finding that notion preposterous. "As if anyone would come up with such a _ridiculous_ theory."

"It's not a theory though, it's actually the _truth_." Gill reminded her.

For a long moment, she simply glared at him. However, realizing he was right, she frowned, and went back to tending to her fur. "I suppose I can't argue with that."

At this, the ranger laughed. "You 'suppose' you can't argue with a _fact_? Ha! Geez, that stubbornness of yours sure came back fast." He mused, almost affectionately.

She smiled, glancing at him through the corner of her eye. "I'm not the only one who's stubborn. Unless you consider trying to talk a criminal into some kind of fairytale retribution not an act of stubbornness."

"Firstly, _you_ were the one who asked me how you could atone for the things you've done, not the other way around. Secondly, there's nothing 'fairytale' about retribution." Gilliam explained, suddenly quite serious, "It's just a matter of living your life selflessly rather than selfishly."

To this, the Glaceon's ears drooped, as she averted her gaze from his, looking instead at the ground. "You make that sound so _easy_ …" She trailed.

The human frowned, feeling the sudden urge to pet her, however she would have felt that demeaning probably, so he decided against it. "It's not as hard as it seems. All you have to do is change the way that you think." He explicated, making a gesture at his head.

Melody nodded in agreement when the Glaceon looked at her, perhaps for encouragement.

Diamond slumped a little bit from her sitting position, not totally convinced that it would be something she'd be capable of doing. "I suppose you have an _example_?"

The man nodded. "Sure. All you have to do is stop thinking 'how will this affect _me'_ and start thinking 'how will this affect _everyone_ _around_ me?' For instance, the whole idea you had at revenge on Larz. If you were to get your way, and I helped you take him down, that would please _you_ , yeah, but did you ever think about what it might do as a whole? Maybe Melody doesn't ever _want_ anything to do with that man _ever_ again? Maybe she's scared getting your revenge on him won't be enough for you, and you might just keep hurting people until you're satisfied? And what about the man himself? There's a chance he's not even like that anymore."

The ice-type's expression took a strong turn for the sour as the ranger said this. "That's _impossible_. You don't _know_ what kind of person he _was_. People like that don't _deserve_ a second chance." She hissed, standing up. Her fur stood on end in a cat-like manner as she did this.

Gilliam's face took a turn as well as he quickly corrected her. " _Everyone_ deserves a second chance. As somebody who's been given one _personally_ , I'd not discredit that, if I were you."

Diamond's face maintained its defiant look for a moment, as they glowered at one another intensely. "I never said I deserved one _either_. Who's to say I won't do something to make you regret it, still?" She challenged.

The ranger's countenance did not change as he stared her down every bit of the way, never faltering even an inch. "The tears you cried at seeing what you'd done to those people were _real_. The good in you is _real_. It's highly ungrateful of you to patronize me for trying to bring that _out_ considering the lengths I've gone through to do-so."

At this, the Glaceon conceded, breaking eye contact. Her ears drooped again, and her body became less tense, as she sat back down, again staring at the floor. "I'm… I'm sorry, you're right. I just cannot _stand_ that man. You don't know how _beautiful_ my sister's voice was."

At this, the Eevee walked up to her sister with misty eyes, and nuzzled against her lovingly.

The sight of this calmed the man down considerably. However, that reminded him of something. "Listen, I talked to some doctors about Melody's condition…"

Diamond's eyes burst open at the mention of this. He had not said anything about that before, but she knew that Melody had gone out with him a couple of times during the week. Surprisingly she jumped into the man's lap and put her front paws on his chest, making him flinch a little bit as she moved her face rather close to his. "You did _what_!? Are you _serious_!? Can she be _fixed_!?" She asked, very excited, but also very nervous as well. She knew humans had medical devices that could work wonders that, to a wild pokemon like her, seemed like full-on miracles. She'd heard about it and seen proof of such things many times before.

Gilliam blushed. Her sister was one thing, but the Glaceon was fully grown and a bit too easy on the eyes for him to function properly at such a proximity, so he deftly picked her up and set her on the ground next to her sister. "Easy, there, _easy_. I have her medical report right here in this desk. Hang on, and I'll read it to you."

Sitting as patiently as possible, the Glaceon watched from her spot on the ground, fidgeting as the man reached into one of the drawers of his desk, and pulled out a stack of papers.

The Eevee, having been the one to be examined, knew what he was about to say, and showed little reaction to the event, but nevertheless paid attention.

He looked over the papers as they waited, sifting through them until he found the part he was looking for. "Your sister is suffering from a condition called Aphonia, which translates roughly into 'producing no sound'. It's caused by some damage that's been done to her recurrent laryngeal nerve, which is the part of the nervous system that sends signals out to all the muscles in her larynx, which is why she can't speak or even make any sounds. Basically speaking, the connection between her brain and those muscles has been cut, so they can't be used for her to produce anything vocally. However…" He went on to say.

"However…. _**However**_ _?"_ Diamond impatiently parroted, pawing at the bottoms of his pants.

He tried hard not to find this adorable, but quickly failed, his cheeks flushing a bit as he continued. "Well, it's not a 100% possibility since we're talking about nervous system damage, but… there's a chance that the injuries might repair themselves whenever she evolves."

Diamond's eyes suddenly flooded with tears. "You mean, she'll be able to talk to me again…? To _sing_ again…?" She asked, her voice wavering a bit.

Melody nuzzled her once more, this time having the favor returned by her sister, who was becoming quickly emotional at this revelation.

Gilliam did not want to get their hopes up too high, however, as he put the papers back where they'd been before. "It's only a _possibility_. But I thought you deserved to know."

She sighed deeply, her breathing a bit sporadic. "That's… the _best_ news I've heard in a long time. Thank you… Gilliam."

The man could not stop heat from reaching his face, as he was still not used to her calling him by his name, especially not like that. He however, gave her his best smile. "She was happy to hear it too, I'm pretty sure, but don't get _too_ excited, it's not a _sure_ thing." He repeated.

Diamond cuddled with her sister for a brief moment, both of them filled with hope that maybe she'd be able to speak again, whenever she decided to evolve. "I know, I heard you. Just… let me _cling_ to that, for now. Melody is the not only my sister, but my only friend." She informed him.

Looking at her with an odd sort of interest, the ranger cleared his throat. "Well, I'm trying to _remedy_ that, so don't worry too much." He quietly said, almost underneath his breath.

The Glaceon stopped loving on her sister for a moment, her ear twitching as she looked at him, bewildered. Did he just suggest that _they_ might be friends? He was doing his best to hide his face, as if embarrassed that she'd heard him, but he smiled a little bit.

For a long moment, she just studied him. Without him looking her directly in the eye, it was slightly less awkward. She had to admit, for a human, he wasn't all that bad looking. Strong features, kind eyes, and built almost as _powerfully_ as a Machoke. The way his lengthy hair came to meet with the fur lining the sides of his cheeks and chin was almost dynamic. Some might even say… dashing.

When his eyes turned to meet hers once more, they were quick to both look in the other direction, as if both were afraid their thoughts would be read through their expressions. She blushed heavily as she scolded herself for letting her mind wander like that. Normally she wouldn't think about a human in such a way, not in a million years. But with Gilliam, there was some kind of strange… chemical reaction whenever she was close to him, something she couldn't quite explain.

As the tension in the room became slightly more uneasy, Diamond's ear twitched. "Your brother is home." She said, jumping on the opportunity to change the subject.

Gilliam cocked his head, not having heard anything. "Really? Wow, guess those ears aren't just for show, huh?" He chuckled, albeit awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as he too pushed certain thoughts to the back of his mind.

She smiled at the compliment, ears waving this way and that cutely. "When you live with a mute sister, you train yourself to pick up all the little sounds."

Gilliam nodded at her, before pulling back the sleeve of his coat to look at his watch. "Well, I sent Ed to do some grocery shopping a while ago, so he must be getting back from doing that. After we're done putting everything away, I'll make lunch, since it's almost noon. You feel like you can eat?" He asked, looking at the ice-type inquisitively.

Diamond looked at the ceiling, a paw to her mouth, in a charming pensive gesture. "I feel like I ate only a couple of hours ago, but I guess I'm still _kind_ of hungry, since you asked."

The ranger began walking up the stairs to exit the basement. "Well, that's probably because you didn't eat _anything_ all week long. You need to keep your strength up so you can make a full recovery. Come on, I don't feel comfortable keeping you in here anymore."

The Glaceon glanced at him, then at the ground, in slight embarrassment. She felt he was doing too much for her, especially considering how recently it was that they were on the opposite sides of the law. "It doesn't _feel_ right, letting you _release_ me like this." She said to him.

The man stopped, turning to examine her expression. She was regaining her old personality, minus a lot of the resentfulness, but he could still see clearly that she felt ashamed. "I'm not releasing you. I'm bringing you _with_ me. Until I decide you're _fully_ rehabilitated, _I'm_ the one who's going to be keeping an eye on you. You're still under my supervision, and you still have to do what I say. And right now I want you to stop moping around in that cell, and just come up to the kitchen. Maybe you can help us put some of the supplies away? Would that make you feel better?" He asked.

Shyly, the blue quadruped's gem-like eyes dragged from the ground up to meet his once more, her ears low. Part of her felt like he was just saying those things so that she'd feel less abashed about coming out, but another part told her he was quite serious. It was difficult to tell. Gilliam McAllister, to her, was one big, fascinating mystery of a man. Not having a response, she merely nodded, albeit timidly, before padding her way out of the cell, and following him and Melody up the stairs.

They came into the kitchen to find Edward leaning against the fridge with an ice pack held to his head, looking rather irate.

"What happened to _you_?" His older brother asked.

The boy groaned in response. "Stupid Murkrow came out of nowhere and tried to steal my hat. Ripped some of my hair out trying to get it. And I ran into Mace when I was shopping. Give you three guesses what happened to the snow-mobiles when his groupies showed up."

Diamond cocked her head, having no idea what the two were talking about, however, she knew that the black-haired man was the one that they called Mace.

Gilliam smacked himself on the forehead. "What, hijacked our groceries _again?_ You've _got_ to be kidding me."

Edward shook his head. "'Fraid not. We need to start scheduling our shopping days separate from Mace. This crap is getting so _old_..."

The middle-aged ranger folded his arms. "Well, I'm sure he'll bring the stuff by later, whenever he manages to deal with all those screaming fangirls of his. I just hope there aren't any scratches or dents on the snow-mobile this time. Last time this happened the light on the front got busted."

"Guess this means ol' four-eyes owes you a drink." Ed laughed, knowing of the arrangement between the two. Traditionally, whenever one of them inconvenienced the other in any way, they would apologize by buying the other alcohol, to be enjoyed on one of their days off duty.

The ranger simply scoffed, shaking his head. "Mace owes me a _dozen_ drinks at this point. That reminds me, did he say anything?"

The younger brother took a moment to consider this. "Hmm. Well, yeah, I guess, though he wasn't really that specific. Just told me to keep my mouth shut about our icy friend here and said that he needed to talk to you about something."

Knowing that she was being indicated, Diamond suddenly became worried. It sounded an awful lot to her like she might still be in trouble by the way that was said. Melody however, nudged her a bit, consolingly, which made her worry a bit less. She however, couldn't help but ask, "You think it's… is it about _me_?" She timidly squeaked.

Gilliam however, put her mind at ease rather quickly. "No, I don't think so, Diamond. It's probably got something to do with a few missing individuals cases we've had popping up since a little after the avalanches took place. We're trying to figure out if they're related or not."

Though she breathed a sigh of relief, prangs of guilt bit at the icy pokemon as she considered the possibility that these missing people could have been connected to her avalanches. If it was her fault, and she could still do something about it…. Shouldn't she? Yes, she thought. She was _done_ sitting around. This was something she could actually _do_ to try and make a bit of a difference.

Gilliam and Edward almost flinched when she jumped up onto the countertop, her eyes ablaze with an unexpected determination. "Well, then, you should let _me_ help!" She pleaded suddenly.

"D-Diamond? Help with _what_?" The ranger asked, unsure if she was referring to the case, or was still talking about putting away groceries.

"The missing people. If there's any chance that those folks went missing because of _me_ , I want to help find them, and even if it's unrelated, you can still use my assistance. I've got excellent senses, and I'm a _great_ tracker, especially in the snow!" She proclaimed, trying to build herself up as much as possible, hoping that the man would accept her offer.

Gill was taken aback for a moment, looking at Edward, who simply shrugged.

When he looked back at the Glaceon, however, he found himself unable to say no to the face she was making. The pleading expression was not only irresistible, but surprisingly sincere. He gave her one of his most approving smiles. "Hmm… You know what? I'd be _delighted_ if you'd assist us, Diamond. I'm sure your help could make a huge difference in our investigation. **But** , you need to be on your _best_ behavior, got it?"

The proud look that he had given her filled her heart with enthusiasm. It was the best feeling she'd had in a very long time. "I _knew_ you'd see things my way." She chirped, almost smugly.

The ranger could not help but grin as she tried to maintain her high-and-mighty attitude—he could tell at this point it was just a front she put up to make herself feel like she was in charge. It was almost cute.

Melody jumped up onto the countertop with her sister, beaming joyously as she silently congratulated her, the two of them running around one another in a bout of playful bites and nips at each other's tails, as they were excited at the prospect of doing some good for a change.

"Of course, this is the first I've heard of anyone _disappearing_. Who went missing?" Edward asked.

The RB Ranger folded his arms. "A one Andy Harper, age 17, and Markus Quincy, age 18. Both males around your age, Ed. They haven't been seen since before the third avalanche hit. But even after the melting, no sign of them anywhere, no bodies, nothing. They're just… _gone_."

Edward's expression took a turn for the pensive as he felt those names were familiar. "Andy and Mark? I think I _knew_ those guys. They were like best friends. I think I even hung out with them once or twice."

Not willing to drop any sort of lead in a case like this, Gill looked his younger sibling in the face. "You _knew_ them? What kind of kids were they?" He asked.

Feeling he'd bitten off more than he could chew just by admitting that he knew of them, the boy hesitantly accepted the fact that he'd have to give a testimony now. "They were average I guess. Usually pretty well-behaved. Then again, I guess I can't say average, since they got straight A's in school. I didn't hang out with them _that_ much. We just sometimes would talk about what colleges we were going to go to, or whatever, sometimes trade cards."

The RB Ranger fiddled with his beard contemplatively. "Hmm. So they were buddies, huh… that _couldn't_ be a coincidence. Wherever they went, they must have been _together_ … Hmm. Well, thanks bro. I probably would have gotten that much out of their parents, but I appreciate the effort."

The boy donned a distinctively sarcastic grin, clearly not elated to receive such a forced compliment from his elder sibling. "Gee, thanks."

Before the eldest of the two could respond, however, a jazzy little tune began issuing from his jacket. The two pokemon present exchanged looks as their ears fidgeted, and Gilliam quickly pulled out his cell, looking at the touch screen. "Oh, speaking of which. Excuse me for a second."

As he answered the call he turned around and walked into the hallway, which connected the kitchen to the staircase leading to the top level, as well as he and Ed's bedrooms and the front exit. "This is McAllister." He stated to the mystery caller.

Diamond's eyes followed the man as he left the room. She wondered who it was that had called him, her ears moving this way and that as she tried to follow the conversation. She didn't recognize the voice on the other end, but they sounded like they were familiar with him. If she had to guess, it was probably a citizen of Snowbelle, from the tone of respectfulness with which the individual regarded him.

Edward removed the ice pack from his head, pulling out his own cell, to show it to her, believing her to be confused. "It's a device we use to talk to people from a distance. See? I have one too." He explained, trying to be friendly.

She glared at the boy distastefully, feeling her intelligence being demeaned. "I _know_ what a phone is." She scoffed.

Edward balked, not having intended to spark her ire. "Oh uh… sorry. I thought you were _wild_ , was all." He explicated.

"That doesn't make me _stupid_. I've been around humans enough to know what you call things, and what they do. If I want to know what something is, I'll _ask_." She huffed, turning her head away from him rather haughtily.

The young boy sighed. 'Geez, she's so _nice_ to my brother, what's with the attitude?' He wondered. He however, felt his leg being poked.

Looking down, he spied Melody, who stared up at him with big eyes and a huge smile. She really was adorable. He picked her up, and she licked at his face affectionately. "Aww, it's okay Mel. Your mean ol' sister didn't hurt my feelings or anything." He laughed.

"Let's get one thing straight, **brat**. If it weren't for the fact that you're Gilliam's only brother, I'd be hurting a lot more than your _feelings_. I _know_ about the report, and I _know_ you tried to talk him into filing it the way it was as opposed to his initial idea of deleting it and making something up so that I wouldn't be put down. If you'd had _your_ way, I'd be _dead_ by now. So don't give me that _look_ like you don't _understand_ why I don't **like** you. You're _lucky_ that Melody seems to be fond of you, otherwise I wouldn't even be able to tolerate your _presence_." Diamond snorted, jumping off the counter, before following the RB Ranger into the hallway, tail and head held aloft.

Edward's mouth hung open as she left the room, as he was left to wonder how she could have been privy to all that information. It wasn't like Gill to just _tell_ people things like that, particularly if it would cause unrest between two or more parties. She must've overheard them or something.

Looking at Melody, he noticed her eyes had followed her sister, now staring at the doorway leading to the hall, face contorted with worry.

He gulped audibly as he pet the Eevee's head, if not to console her, then to console _himself_. "Maybe Mace was right. I need to learn to keep my big mouth _shut_ …"

In the hallway, close to the front door, Gilliam was just finishing with his call. "All right, I'll be right over there, and we can talk more in person, Mr. Quincy. Right. Right. See you there. Bye."

Pressing the screen to end the call, the ranger put his phone back in the appropriate pocket on his trench coat, looking down at Diamond, who sat patiently, just watching him. He'd noticed her the moment she followed him, naturally, but he tried to give his eyes something else to look at, as she probably found the staring a bit rude. Not that she wasn't staring at _him_ the whole time, of course. "Sorry about that…. That was-"

"One of the boys' parents. They sounded very worried." She finished for him, having heard nearly the entire conversation.

The ranger blinked a couple of times, studying her expression. Guilt was plainly evident in her otherwise perfect features, making him frown. "How would _you_ feel if your only child suddenly vanished, without a trace?" He asked.

She considered the question, averting her eyes, as if in shame. "I don't think I'd make a very good mother. But... I'd want answers. _Results_. Every moment I was kept waiting on them would probably drive me a little closer to a total breakdown."

The man pulled his fur-rimmed hood up, before taking some white gloves out of the pockets of his jacket, and putting them on. "Then you understand why I have to go and talk to these people right away. Even if I can't offer them any results, I can at least give them peace of mind in knowing these disappearances are being looked into." He informed her.

Her eyes narrowed, and she stood up. "Don't think for even one _second_ that you're not taking me with you."

Gill watched her blankly for a moment, before chuckling. "It's not like I could talk you _out_ of it, right?"

She grinned. "It's about _time_ you started figuring me out."

The man opened the front door, motioning for her to go through like a true gentleman. "Well what are we _waiting_ for? Come on, ladies first."

Daintily crossing the threshold, Diamond held herself with the first bit of pride he'd seen of her since she fell into a depression earlier that week. Well. Pride of the righteous sort at least. "How sweet. Thanks." She giggled.

He blushed a little bit however, electing not to watch her from behind when she held her tail up like that. He could only wonder how she walked so gracefully with such a _thick_ back-side. "Eheh. No… problem."

*End Chapter 5*


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Do not own pokemon, of course. If you're not fond of pokephilia, people attracted to pokemon, or anything of the sort, please stop here and get out because I don't need to accumulate hate just because it's something I like reading and writing about. In this story pokephilia is not illegal and a fairly common practice, as pokemon have evolved to the point that they all speak English, eliminating the speech barrier—and realistically, that barrier is the only thing keeping it from being just as common as interracial or gay relationships, considering they're cute, intelligent, and sentient.

CHAPTER 6: "All Hail the Alpha Male"

Having been outside for the first time since Gilliam had taken her to the graveyard, Diamond took a deep breath of cool winter air, enjoying the feel of fresh powder between her toes. The sky and humidity was a clear indication that it would snow again later on in the evening, perhaps one or two feet. " **Wow** this feels _good_. Your house was a little on the _stuffy_ side."

"I turned all the heating units off, so it shouldn't have been _that_ hot. Why do you think I was wearing my coat even though I was _inside_?" the ranger asked, looking at her as they made their way to their destination.

She studied his badge of office, the long, white coat with the hail forme of Castform in an RBR emblem on the right shoulder. It was complete with many pockets on the inside and out, with lots of hidden compartments for additional carrying capacity. The hood, as well as the rims of the sleeves were lined with brown Mamoswine fur, and the coat itself was insulated to trap in heat, truly a marvel of leatherwork, just in general.

She giggled a little bit. "And here I thought you wore that thing just to look _cool_."

Try as he might, the ranger could not stop a light blush. "Hey, come on now, I know it's a bit over-the-top, but we're _required_ to wear these in the RBR…" He chuckled, scratching at his goatee.

"It's not over the top. It makes you look like you're in _charge_. When you came up the mountain to set off explosives the first couple of times, I saw it and _knew_ you were the **alpha** in this town." Diamond informed him.

He couldn't help but laugh at that. "Hah, the _alpha_ , huh? Come on now, Mace was wearing the _exact_ same thing, and he was up there with me too. How'd you know _he_ wasn't the one calling the shots?"

The ice type shot him a look that suggested she believed he was jesting. "You've got to be _kidding_ me. That wuss couldn't even withstand one little _blizzard_. You think I'd _really_ have that hard of a time telling which one of you was the _stronger_ male? You could eat that guy for _lunch_." She quantified.

Gilliam tried as hard as he could not to laugh, and be humble, but his ego was entirely too inflated at this point to do-so easily. "Hahaha. Aww, don't knock the guy just because you caught him off guard. I spar with him every now and then, and he's actually a pretty skilled fighter. It's just really easy to get the drop on him, is all—probably because he has a habit of overanalyzing things."

The Glaceon favored the human with a look of admiration. "I'm sure that's true, but he's not built for durability. He went down after one attack, whereas with you, I attacked you _three_ times, each of which did almost nothing."

The ranger could not claim all the credit for that, though his cheeks burned at the way she was regarding him. "Hold on, one of those times don't count, because X jumped in the way."

Her eyes shimmered when he said that, as if further validating her point. "Which is just more proof that you are the **alpha** to them."

The hailcoat stopped walking for a moment, never having considered his position in Snowbelle from a pack standpoint. "...Huh. Guess I never thought of it _that_ way before."

Turning around, Diamond began rubbing her body up against his legs, much like a cat. "The people of this town all go to _you_ when they are in trouble. Everyone here turns to _you_ when things go wrong. Whether you know it or not, you are the _alpha_ male here, the _leader_ of these people."

Gilliam absorbed this, his cheeks flushing further. As groundbreaking as all that information was, it was difficult to process with the ice-type pressing herself against him like she was. "Um… Diamond… What… ah. _What_ are you doing…?" He asked, voice cracking a bit.

The question lingered for a minute, but upon registering, triggered the Glaceon's eyes to snap open. Realizing what she'd been doing, she hastily scooted her big butt away from him, leaving a rather large path in the snow. "Oh geez! That must have seemed really _weird_! I- I'm sorry, it's just that, in the wild, that's how females _act_ towards the alpha males. By boosting their confidence, they secure their place as part of the pack. I… I didn't even _realize_ I was doing it." She said, speaking rather quickly, her entire face taking on a hue of red.

The ranger waved his hands disarmingly, trying his best to defuse her embarrassment. "No, no, it's fine! I just didn't _expect_ it, that's all. I mean, it's not like it _bothered_ me or anything, it was just uh. Kind of _distracting_ , that's all..." He insisted, making sure not to mention his sudden desire to shove a handful of snow down his pants, if only to cool himself off a bit.

Diamond said nothing to this, and the two simply continued on their path to the Quincy's home in awkward silence. The ice-type cursed herself inwardly. She had absolutely no intention of doing that… it just… _happened_. What was _wrong_ with her? 'Get a hold of yourself, Diamond' she thought. 'Is he _so_ fascinating to you that you can't even control your _animal_ _instincts_ around him? He's a _human_ , not a pokemon.'

In Gilliam's case, the thoughts were just as stressed, and perhaps twice as pent-up. 'This would be a whole lot easier if she wasn't so _damned_ pretty. I'm letting her get away with entirely too much here… but I just can't _help_ it. What am I supposed to say to a face like _that_?' he wondered inwardly.

After a few moments of walking though, the two came upon their destination, a quaint little house with a slowpoke-shaped mailbox out front, which had been hastily repaired from being recently knocked over. The home itself wasn't exactly in pristine condition either, as damages from the recent avalanches still appeared to be prevalent, with windows boarded up and a few piles of debris laying here and there at several parts of the yard.

"This place has seen better days…" Diamond commented, her ears and tail hanging low, as she knew she only had herself to blame.

Gill walked forward and knocked on the door. "Small houses like this had the better of it, actually. It's the bigger houses that ended up getting totally demolished." He elucidated.

After a brief period, the door opened, and a short, but stocky red-headed man with a handlebar mustache greeted them. "Oh, that was fast. Come on in, Officer McAllister." He said, standing aside to allow them entry.

"Just Gill is fine, Mr. Quincy." The ranger informed him, waving for the Glaceon to enter before himself, once again being polite to her because she was a girl. She entered the house wordlessly, looking around.

Mr. Quincy shut the door behind them. "Oh, of course. Just call me Fred, in that case. Can I offer you some coffee, or anything?" He asked.

The hailcoat shook his head. "No, that's alright. I'm just here to ask you a few questions and take a look around, if you don't mind, that is."

Fred nodded solemnly. "By all means. Markus's room is the last one on the right, just down the hallway. Officer Sinclair said you might want to have a look at things in there, so I didn't move anything around."

Diamond's ear twitched, as she regarded Gilliam with an inquisitive look. "Officer Sinclair?" She repeated, not knowing who that was.

Gilliam glanced in her direction, somewhat distracted by his thoughts regarding how the disappearance of Markus might have taken place. "Mace's last name." He explicated.

The red-headed man regarded the Glaceon with some interest. "Well, would you _look_ at that. Finally decide to get a partner?" The man chuckled.

The ranger flushed at the suggestion. "Heh, sorry, where are my manners? This is Diamond. She's actually-" he began.

The ice-type interrupted him however. "It's nice to meet you, Fred. Gilliam and I became partners just recently, so that's why we've never met before." She explained, through a wry grin.

The hailcoat could only glance at her, with a sarcastic smile, eyes half lidded and one of them twitching as she introduced herself as his official pokemon partner. She was certainly incorrigible for someone who only just recently recovered from a bout of depression, though he supposed he should have been thankful for her bouncing back so rapidly.

"Diamond, huh? Beautiful name for a beautiful pokemon! Take good care of Gill here, a lot of us were worried he'd _never_ get a partner." Mr. Quincy laughed.

The Glaceon was eating this up. "Aww, thanks. Yeah, he's a little bit of a lone Lycanroc."

Gilliam cleared his throat to get their attention, "Ahem! Back to the matter at _hand_ , when was the last time you saw your son?"

The seriousness quickly returned to the ginger man's face. "At dinner, right before we went to bed. It was that night the most recent avalanche hit… I know you're here to ask me questions, but I wanted to ask _you_ some as well." He explained.

The ranger nodded in confirmation. "Of course, what's on your mind?"

"When you and officer Sinclair rescued my wife and I from our bedroom, you told us that Markus was not in his room, correct?" Fred lined out, carefully making sure he had everything accurate.

Backtracking in his mind, he nodded, indicating that everything was as the man had stated. "Yeah, I remember looking for him in every room of the house, and poking around the area outside with the probes just in case… We never got a signal from his beacon."

"He was _wearing_ his beacon though, I'm _sure_ of it." Fred insisted. "Is it possible he ran away, or do you think somebody else rescued him, or something?"

Gilliam drummed a finger against his chin, walking towards the boy's room. "Both are possible, but the second would be more indicative of a kidnapping rather than some kind of vigilante. There's a possibility somebody used the avalanche as a convenient excuse to snatch him up. "

Mr. Quincy's expression was becoming more and more distraught. "But… _who_ would do such a thing? And **why**?" He demanded to know.

Opening Markus's bedroom door, the ranger scanned every detail of the scene before him. "Somebody who wants money from you, a wealthy attorney who's kid was about to get sent to college with a lot of funds. Despite your social class, you live in a small house, so they might have assumed you had a lot saved up because of that, if they were in fact casing you as a mark. Whoever they were, they probably knew the avalanche would happen again. I'd say they may have been the cause for it, but recent findings in that investigation suggests that's unlikely, so I'm not sure. However, if your son still has his beacon on him, there's a chance we might be able to track it… but…" he trailed.

The man grabbed him by the coat, and tugged on it hard. "Track the beacon. You have to find my son. You _have_ to."

Gently, the ranger wrested the man's hands off of his jacket. "Don't worry, we'll find him."

"Does another pokemon live here?" Diamond suddenly asked, sniffing the sheets of the boy's bed.

Gilliam was surprised at this question, watching the Glaceon for a moment, before looking at the boy's father inquisitively.

The man looked baffled that she would ask such a thing. "Well, no. We used to have some pokemon, but that was a long time ago. It's just me and my wife, and Markus… until recently, of course. Why do you ask that?"

The Glaceon snuffled around the room, making a series of expressions. "It's faint but… there's no mistaking that smell. There was a pokemon here, a female. A strong one, judging by how long this musk has been sticking around. I can't tell what type of pokemon it is, though."

Fred donned a bewildered look. "That's… odd. I never knew Markus to bring anything like that home. He didn't have a trainer card, or pokeballs or anything of the like, at least to _my_ knowledge. There's no _way_ he could have had one without our knowing about it…"

"Then she's the one who took him." Diamond concluded simply, rubbing her nose with a paw, as if to free it of a strong aroma that was lingering.

This revelation had Gilliam both surprised and impressed, though it was clear that it only upset Mr. Quincy further.

"But why? What benefit would a pokemon have for money?" He asked.

"That was just a theory, keep in mind. Although, she could have been acting under orders. A lot of people have their pokemon commit crimes like this _for_ them, just so there's less to trace back to them, should they get caught. I've seen it all plenty of times." Gilliam explained.

Diamond huffed, donning a look of disgust. "Using a pokemon to commit crimes for money? That's _despicable_." She huffed.

"Yeah, but not unheard of. There are even groups of people who collect and steal pokemon for the exclusive purpose of committing crimes for profit. The media is always buzzing about it. I've… had run-ins with groups like that, in the past, and this doesn't exactly seem like something they wouldn't do." The ranger sighed, trying to temporarily block out unwanted memories that were attempting to resurface.

"Money-obsessed humans make me _sick_." The Glaceon growled.

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions though, right now we need to finish up here and go to the other boy's house to check for any clues that might connect his own disappearance to that of Markus." Gilliam informed her, before turning to regard the mustached man, "I understand that your son was good friends with the Harper's lad?"

Fred merely nodded. "Yes, they were quite close, in fact. Andy was almost like part of the family. We'd see him at least three times a week, sometimes he'd even spend the night or stay over for dinner. The wife was quite fond of him, as well. We were devastated to find that he also has gone missing, of course. Because of that, we've done our best to stay in contact with his family since the entire thing happened."

The ranger patted the man on the shoulder, consolingly. "Good, continue to do-so. Now, I know we weren't here long, but if you don't mind, I have to go check on that while the lead Diamond here has given us is still fresh. I'll make sure to be available for you to call, and I'll phone you if anything new comes up. Are you going to be alright?"

Mr. Quincy looked unsure how to answer that question, but he hesitantly nodded. "I'll manage. You two just do what you have to do. If these disappearances are in fact connected, you'll find more answers at Andy's residence than you will here, at this point, anyway."

Diamond bowed politely to the man. "Glad you understand. It was nice meeting you, Fred."

The man chuckled at her sudden social etiquette, albeit weakly. "And you too, Diamond. I'm glad you're on the case. Gilliam really _needed_ a partner like you."

Gill scratched his head in embarrassment, watching as the Glaceon turned, once again holding herself with a lot of smugness and pride, although this time it was arguably adorable. "Don't worry, he'll realize that _too_ , soon enough." She giggled, walking again towards the front door.

Fred saw them out and wished them good luck, and they said their goodbyes to the man, before heading in the direction of the Harper residence.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed." The ranger suddenly said as they walked. "You turned up a vital clue I never would have found on my own."

The Glaceon trotted alongside him, clearly quite pleased with herself. "See? I _told_ you I'd be a big help."

For a long moment, Gilliam just considered whether or not to say the next thing that came to his mind. 'Why not', he thought. "I never had any doubt… _partner_."

Diamond stopped in her tracks, just looking at him for a time. When he turned to see why she'd delayed, he was met with big, jewel-like eyes that glimmered in the mid-day sun. Overcome by being stared at so intensely, he averted his own eyes, smiling as he rubbed his head sheepishly.

A large grin overtook her face as well. She had initially just insinuated that they were partners to tease him, but she never expected him to go _along_ with it. Something about those simple words… _delighted_ her to no end. Being useful was one thing, but being useful to _him_ was another altogether. It filled her heart with a nirvana she'd never experienced before.

"Well, come on then, let's go. I'm going to need your help _again_ when we get to Andy's house." The ranger told her.

"Wouldn't miss it." She assured him, following as he continued walking, perhaps just a bit closer than before.

The two of them spoke with Andy's parents, and investigated the boy's room just like they had previously. Just as Gilliam had suspected, Diamond said that the smell of the same female pokemon from before was present in the lad's room, where he'd supposedly also vanished like his friend Markus, around the same time. Giving the couple their consolations, and reassurances that they were on the brink of a breakthrough in the case gave the people a lot of hope, which both the ranger and the Glaceon were pleased to see, but at the same time applied a lot of pressure, with the happiness of such kind-hearted individuals relying so heavily on their success.

After saying their goodbyes, the two of them opted to head back to Gilliam's home, where hopefully they'd be able to get something to eat, having skipped lunch. It was around 4 PM when they began to head back.

"So what are we going to do now?" Diamond asked.

Gilliam pressed the screen on his phone, making a somewhat irate face. "Mace isn't answering his phone, so for now we're just going to go back to the house. He needs to be informed of our findings."

The ice-type pouted, her expression taking on a minor tone of jealousy. "What do we need _him_ for? I thought we were doing well enough on our own."

The hailcoat chuckled at her demeanor. "Well first off, I'd kind of like to get our groceries back, otherwise we're stuck eating cheese and crackers."

The Glaceon's stomach gurgled, and she blushed a bit, turning her face in the other direction, but saying nothing. She still didn't know what was going on with their supplies, but was smart enough to realize that for whatever reason, the other RB Ranger was currently in possession of them. She made a note to ask about it later.

Gilliam grinned at her lopsidedly, much to her embarrassment. "Don't worry, if I have to, I'll just go out and buy something for dinner. Anyway, Mace is integral in helping us to solve this case. You might not think it to look at him, but he used to be a private investigator before he became RBR. Stuff like this is his _specialty_."

"He's so young though. I thought you said he had been a ranger for the past 2 years? That's like, eight seasons, right? He would have been somewhere around your brother's age back then." She made sure to mention.

The man stroked his goatee in thought for a moment, kind of impressed she could judge a human's age so accurately just by looking. "A little older, but somewhere around his age, yes. That's why he was just a P.I. and not an _actual_ detective. But he was very good at it during the time that it was how he made a living, back when he was fresh out of high school. A lot of people said he was something of a prodigy."

"Is that how he got into the RBR?" She asked, never having really considered the glasses-wearing man as much more than Gilliam's side-kick.

"Yes, actually. It's also how we ended up meeting, and being assigned to the same town. Mace single-handedly uncovered the location of a group of slavers that had been in hiding in this area, eluding the authorities for almost 5 years." The ranger explained.

Diamond cocked her head. "Slavers?" she mirrored.

He nodded, solemnly. "Rough group of people. I'll… I'll tell you about it later, okay? When there's not as much going on."

The ice-type suddenly suspected, by the turn in his tone of voice, as well as the expression on his face, that _that_ particular story was much darker in nature than it first seemed when she initially asked about it. Perhaps when he trusted her a bit more, she'd ask him again, she thought.

When they arrived at the McAllister residence, Gilliam was pleased to see his own snow-mobile parked outside, next to Mace's. First thing he did was check it for any damages, but for the most part, it seemed to be intact.

"Something smells _good_." Diamond said, sniffing the air with a pleased look on her face as he checked his vehicle.

The man sniffed the air as well, not noticing at first, but it did in fact smell like something was cooking. He grinned at her, opening the front door and waving her in, knowing she was in for a treat as he recognized the smell of one of his brother's signature dishes. "Yep, looks like I don't have to cook _after_ all. Guess you lucked out, cuz I kind of suck at it compared to Ed."

As soon as she entered the house, the Glaceon was drawn to the kitchen by the intoxicating aroma almost like a moth to a flame. The ranger chuckled at this, finding it adorable as he removed his boots and beat the snow off of them before shutting the door, and following her.

Mace was sitting at the dining table next to X, drinking a cup of coffee, and reading a newspaper, and Edward was walking back and forth, adding various nuts, pastes, and coconut milk to a large, simmering pot, with Melody on the countertop watching, licking her lips cutely as he fed her pieces of some berries he was also using to cook, petting her affectionately on the head as he did-so.

Gilliam removed his gloves, regarding his fellow RB Ranger with a sarcastic glance. "Enjoying your day _off_ , you slack piece of shit?" He joked.

The black-haired man set his reading material down, offering his associate a look of mock innocence. "As if I could pass up on your brother's _famous_ curry?"

The eldest ranger sat down next to him after taking off his trench coat and draping it over the back of the quaint, wooden chair. The heat from the stove was more than enough to keep him warm. "Why the hell didn't you answer your cell? I've been calling you since _noon_."

The spectacle-clad man took another sip from his mug before indicating his phone, which lay on the table with a large, spider-web crack going across the now lifeless screen. "Totaled. Must've happened when I crashed my snow-mobile into that tree trying to get away earlier."

" _Arceus_. So the one I saw outside must've been the _spare_?" Gilliam asked, not recalling any damage to either of the vehicles.

X interjected to answer for his partner. "I wasn't there when it happened, but the other one somehow caught on _fire_ at some point during the chase. We spent all _day_ just cleaning up the mess it made. How Mace came out without a scratch, I'll never know."

Gill cast the bird-like pokemon a half-lidded look of disbelief, sweatdropping. "That doesn't even make any _sense_."

The Xatu moved his head this way and that, almost like an owl, flapping his wings for added emphasis. "That's what _I_ said!"

Mace adjusted his glasses, trying and failing to maintain a look of competence. "Well, I did a couple of laps around the town trying to lose them, but Branch showed up out of nowhere and thought it would be a good idea to try and stop me by melting the snow in front of my vehicle with a flamethrower."

"Probably to get revenge for you _chucking_ her into the _woods_." Edward added, not looking up from what he was doing as he chopped some potatoes, adding them to his pot.

Mace's glasses slid down his nose at a lopsided angle as he regarded the younger McAllister with an irate look. "Could've _sworn_ I asked you not to mention that…"

The boy disregarded him, chuckling as he fed more odd ingredient pieces to the Eevee, who wagged her tail, also rubbing into the pettings he was giving her, clearly pleased at being shown such affection.

Diamond wanted to hop up on the counter with her sister, but she elected not to, considering the things that she said to Edward earlier, which she was already slightly regretting. Instead she opted to move away from the stove, as it was making her rather hot, and instead sat on the floor close to Gilliam's chair, just more comfortable in general whenever she was close to him. Once situated, she contented herself with watching the boy prepare the food, her tail waving this way and that as a bit of drool dribbled from her maw.

The long, silky appendage brushed against Gill's leg several times, making him quite aware of her presence, but when he looked to see her sitting there, he realized she didn't know she was doing it, so he simply continued talking to Mace, trying not to think about how soft it was.

"Well, while you were out being terrorized by your fangirls with our groceries in tow, Diamond and I were busy visiting the missing boys' homes." He explained.

Mace took this opportunity to glance in the ice-type's direction. "Oh? You took her _with_ you?"

The older ranger nodded. "She wanted to help. And, in retrospect, I'm _glad_ she did, because she's actually got a _knack_ for this kind of work."

Ear twitching as they spoke, Diamond turned her attention from the food to the two hailcoats, leaping up onto the dining table, and holding her head up proudly. She was ready to ham up her moment of spotlight to the _max_. " **That's** right, and you won't _believe_ what **I** managed to find!"

Mace downed the rest of his coffee, doing an award-winning job of seeming uninterested, as he pushed his glasses up his nose, causing them to glint. "What, the Harpers have a chubby Pikachu for you to chase around?" He chuckled.

Diamond glared at the man, a vein of annoyance popping out close to the crown-like crest of fur situated on her forehead, as visible puffs of steam rose from her face, which went a little red from not being taken seriously. Her eyes trained themselves on Gilliam. "Is this guy _serious_?"

Realizing his answer would affect whether or not she decided to turn his cohort into a human popsicle, Gilliam placed a hand gently on her front paw. "No, he's just teasing you. Although you have to admit, the Harper's Pikachu _is_ getting kind of fat."

The Glaceon pinkened slightly, if not at the sudden recollection of her urges to _actually_ pounce on that pudgy Pikachu when she saw it, then at the feeling of the ranger's strong hand resting against her paw. "That's _besides_ the point. What about the female pokemon I smelled?"

Mace cocked his head. " _Female_ pokemon? Only the Harpers have the one Pikachu, and I'm pretty sure it's a _boy_."

Diamond shook her head. "No, there's a strong musk present in both of the bedrooms of the missing boys, and it's a pokemon I've never smelled before. One thing that's unmistakable when it comes to scent is gender, so I'm _positive_ it was a female. But it was very… odd. It almost seemed kind of _human_ , but not quite."

Gilliam elaborated on this further, looking his associate in the eye. "She's got a way better nose than either of _us_ , so I trust that she's _on_ to something here—the parents seem certain that neither of the boys had any way of hiding a 'secret pokemon' from them, or even the means to catch or bring one home, at least not without them knowing about it."

The four-eyed man adjusted his eyewear again, switching gears as his face became quite serious, for the first time since they'd come in putting on an air of professionalism. "...If what you're saying is _true_ , this mystery pokemon would naturally be the culprit behind our little kidnapping theory, correct?"

The other hailcoat removed his hand from the Glaceon's paw, seeing that he was making her a bit jittery, before nodding. "I think it's the best lead we've got."

Rather than responding, Mace put his elbows on the table, clasping his hands as he considered what he was hearing, his mind hard at work to make all the necessary connections based on his own findings. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but as an individual with an investigative background, he knew doing so with the more promising leads was one of the only ways to _proceed_ with such cases.

After brooding for a moment, he looked at Diamond, serious this time. "The pokemon you smelled was probably of the human-like egg group."

The ice-type blinked at him a couple of times, not sure what he was talking about. "Human-like… egg group?"

The raven-haired ranger nodded. "We humans classify pokemon based on what other types of pokemon they are capable of breeding with. Pokemon with lots of human-esque qualities, such as being bipedal, are part of an egg group called 'human-like'. You said that the female you smelled 'had human qualities, but not quite'. That would mean it's most likely a pokemon of this particular egg group. You might not have thought so in saying that, but you actually helped me narrow down the possible culprit in these 'kidnappings'—if we're to assume that's what they are—quite a bit."

Diamond took a few steps back on the table, making a rather disturbed face. "Geez, you humans even go as far as to study our _breeding_ habits?"

Mace did his famous pervert gesture, the lighting around him darkening as his glasses gleamed. "Humans are a naturally _curious_ species. You'd be surprised how _far_ some will go to get to know their pokemon better…. But looking at how much you've _cozied_ up to Gilliam here, I have a feeling you'll find out about all _that_ soon enough, heheheh..."

* **FWAP** *

Steam rising from his head, Gilliam put down the newspaper he'd rolled up for the purpose of re-educating his associate on his choice of words, folding his arms defiantly as he grumbled to himself. "Fucking smartass…"

"Wow, you knocked him out with nothing but a piece of _paper_ …" Diamond commented, leaning off the side of the table to poke the KO'd man's foot with her paw, highly impressed as it only minorly twitched.

"Alright everyone, that's enough fooling around. Dinner's ready." Came Edward's voice. While they were speaking, he'd already taking the liberty of preparing a bowl of curry for everyone present, and politely set them at appropriate parts of the dining table, along with a few drinks, then removing his apron to sit down himself.

Diamond watched with big eyes and a watering mouth as the boy dispensed a delectable looking dish of some kind of beef cuts saturated in a very pleasant smelling sauce, complete with diced potatoes and chopped lansat berries cooked in, as well as a side of rice. Just for an extra touch of finesse, it was garnished with leppa berry stems, and a few twigs of cinnamon.

She noticed that the others had taken seats, with even Mace peeling himself off of the floor to sit, and his Xatu taking a seat in a passably human posture considering what he was. She knew she was too small to sit in one of the seats however, and as the space atop the table began to get smaller, she moved to the side and wiggled her rump, preparing to hop down onto the floor.

Her motion however, was halted, as Gilliam placed a hand against her chest. She looked at him inquiringly in response.

He smiled at her warmly. "No, no. You're going to sit up _here_ and eat like everyone else. I'll not have you or your sister eating on the floor like some kind of lesser beings just because you walk on all fours." He insisted.

His hand rested firmly against her, in combination with the look he gave her and what he'd said, was enough to make the Glaceon's heart suddenly skip a beat. Not knowing what to do or say, she simply sat there, blinking at the man in a bemused state, a little too thrown off by his statement to know exactly what to do.

He assisted her however, moving his bowl a bit to the side to make room, before scooting his chair to match. He then grabbed an additional dish that had been reserved for her, and set it next to his own, clearing a spot for her to sit on the tabletop. "Come on, don't look at me like _that_ , it's embarrassing! Stop being so shy, and just dig in. You seemed so _eager_ to eat, earlier? Take a look at your sister."

The ice-type craned her head to look in the direction the ranger had pointed, seeing Melody situated on the table next to Edward in much the same manner she was with Gilliam, happily stuffing her face with as much curry as she could manage, licking her lips and just having a grand old time, as the boy next to her watched the mute Eevee with poorly concealed amusement, as he himself ate in a much more casual manner (and of course with a spoon).

As not to be rude, the Glaceon turned to her own food, first sniffing it from up close. The aroma it emitted was positively delectable, and sent waves of pleasure throughout her nostrils, triggering every gland in her mouth to salivate. Delicately, she took a small nibble off of one of the cuts of beef situated on the top, to test the temperature. She was not accustomed to eating hot food, but the euphoria that sent her taste buds reeling in a combination of savory, sweet, and just a hint of spiciness threw her for a loop.

She tucked into the dish without another second's hesitation.

Gilliam laughed, dabbing his mouth with a napkin as he finished a bite, and swallowed before speaking. "Yep, looks like you still _got_ it, Ed. Mom always _said_ you should go to a good culinary school, but here you are thinking about becoming a chemist, instead."

The younger brother rolled his eyes. "Cooking is the _exact_ same thing as chemistry, just with food. Why do you think I'm so _good_ at it?"

X was doing the best he could to clean out his bowl of all the food contained within, but was having an awkward time with his beak. Not that he seemed to care all that much. "I'm so jealous that you get to eat like this every night, Gill. Mace can't cook worth a _squat_. It's like eating _charcoal_ every time." He said, bits of rice and other tidbits of edibles shooting all over the place as he rudely displayed his horrendous table-manners.

The Xatu's partner promptly stepped on the bird's foot, using the table as concealment, which caused the poor pokemon to start squawking uproariously as he choked, but nobody paid it any mind. "Well, we can't all be good at _everything_. I could say the same about your _singing_ , you green-headed goof."

Seeing that the Xatu was about to die, Melody turned around, nudging a beverage that had been set out in the psychic's direction, which he gladly grabbed with his wings and started guzzling in an effort to clear his windpipe. "Kakaawwckk! Kahh! Gahh… Thanks, little one. You and the Glaceon are _lucky_ you get to stay with Gill and his brother. This guy right _here_ never does _anything_ but order me around and _complain_. It's always 'teleport me _here'_ or ' _save_ me from these _teenagers'_ , or 'I _told_ you to stop roosting in my closet!' and 'stop _singing_ in the shower at the crack of dawn!' and blah blah **blah**! He just needs to go ahead and _marry_ one of those girls that chase him around all the time, so that **I** don't have to always be the one to take care of his _sorry_ butt."

Mace chewed a bite of food, regarding his Xatu with a dark glare as he took a sip of his beverage to wash it down. "Okay, **that's** it. No more TV privileges this week."

X practically fell out of his seat. "Wrawwwwwk! Are you **frigging** _kidding_ me!? My favorite show is coming on tonight!"

As the two of them bickered, Diamond was on cloud nine, licking up the last little drop of curry out of her bowl. "That is… the most _amazing_ thing I have ever eaten." She sighed, making a positively dreamy face.

"There's a little bit left, if you want some more." Ed offered, trying not to look too awfully smug as he realized the best way to get out of the danger zone with the ice-type would be through her stomach.

"I'll take care of it, I'm already finished, anyway." Gilliam said, picking up her bowl, and heading back over to the stove to fill it back up from what was left in the pot.

When he brought the dish back to the Glaceon, and set it in front of her, the starry-eyed look of utter gratitude that _should_ have been reserved for the cook ended up being cast upon the ranger, who simply smiled back at her as she wasted no time in devouring it.

Edward groaned in annoyance, his chance to get on Diamond's good-side quickly stolen by his brother, even though he wasn't even the one who _made_ the meal. 'Look at him, _jumping_ at every opportunity to impress her,' the boy thought, examining the man's contented expression as he watched her eat. 'He might think nobody notices, but there's no fooling _me_. I know _chemistry_ when I see it.'

Of course, what Edward didn't know was that Gilliam's intentions were just to make the Glaceon more comfortable about asking for seconds, as she was more at ease when it came to talking to him than she was with other people, though it couldn't be denied that he enjoyed being the center of all of her attentions.

Before long, everyone was finished eating, and Edward stood up to collect all the dishes, followed shortly by the Eevee, who had become so attached to the boy at this point, she seemed content in just following him wherever he went.

Diamond was the last to finish, licking her lips as her empty bowl was removed from the table. It would have been swallowing a bit too much of her pride to do-so now, but she made a mental note to not be so harsh on Ed in the foreseeable future, rather won-over by the exquisite taste of his culinary expertise. " _Ohhh_ man. I didn't think hot food could be so _good_. I thought you humans were _crazy_ for heating your meals, but that was something _else_. I'm so full I could pop."

Gilliam chuckled, pleased to see that she enjoyed the meal. It was a relief for him that she was comfortable eating with them like that, at least after he'd taken the liberty of adjusting things for her so she wasn't so embarrassed about it. "Haha. Well, I'd tell you to thank Ed, but he's already got a pretty inflated ego when it comes to his cooking. But…" He laughed again, making a gesture towards his face with his finger, "You have a little…"

Seeing that he was indicating that she had some food stuck to her face, the Glaceon licked her paw and began wiping it all around her maw and cheeks, almost flustered by being caught in such an unladylike state, particularly in front of Gill.

"Did I get it?" She asked. The hailcoat laughed some more, as she'd only managed to smear it, making it worse.

He couldn't believe how cute she was. "Haha, nope. Still there."

Becoming even more distraught, Diamond licked all around her mouth with her tongue as far as it would go, but it did nothing to remove the offending curry specks. His laughter began to increase in volume as her attempts became more and more futile, because he couldn't help but find it adorable, but she blushed, feeling like he was making fun of her. "Stop laughing, you big hairy jerk!"

Seeing her make a pouty face at him as the color in her cheeks intensified, he grabbed a napkin, apologizing to her for laughing, though with the name she called him—which was arguably also kind of cute—he was having a bit of difficulty. "Haha, I'm sorry, Diamond, here, I'll get it for you."

She flinched back a little bit at first, just kind of apprehensive at his touch, and being babied like that, but he set his other hand on one of her paws, which halted her motion, allowing him to gingerly rub the excess food off of her face.

"There. Now you're all pretty again." He said, grinning at her, and setting the napkin back down.

A feeling like water coming to a boil bubbled within the Glaceon's heart at being called 'pretty' by him, and she timidly looked down with a small smile, cheeks taking on a different hue of rosy than before as she trailed her eyes up to give him a fond look, her tail wagging a little bit.

Never one to miss such an opportunity to tease his associate, Mace let out a long, embarrassing whistle. Before he was able to fully enjoy the response, however, he found himself narrowly dodging an ice beam.

After all was said and done at dinner, Mace and X took their leave to head home for the evening, with Gilliam telling them that he'd contact them some time in the morning.

After helping Edward take care of all the dishes, the ranger took the opportunity to take a much needed shower after a long, hard day of work.

As the water ran down along his chiseled body, he recounted the day's events, wondering what tomorrow would bring. Would they be able to turn up any more clues concerning the disappearances? How would they go about doing that if they couldn't find anything else? Would they be able to track the beacons, which gave off such a weak signal? Could Diamond's rump get any _thicker_?

The man flushed as that last question popped into his mind randomly, bringing with it vividly remembered images of her walking out the door, waving her almost _criminally_ well-endowed backside this way and that, her tail raised far too high to conceal any of her more private bits.

The man cursed himself for having such inappropriate thoughts, even in private, before looking down, seeing that his face wasn't the _only_ place all the blood was rushing.

"Aw geez." He grumbled to himself. He realized it was only a matter of time before his innate attraction to the Glaceon got out of hand.

Not that it hadn't already, in a sense. Though he might have told her that he didn't file the report about the avalanches due to the fact that he 'saw good in her and believed she deserved a second chance', that wasn't the _full_ reason. The main reason he didn't do it was because he simply couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to condemn one of the most _beautiful_ creatures he had ever seen in his entire life.

But was that fatal attraction as far as his feelings went? He didn't rightly know, at the moment. She had only started to come out of her shell very recently—he'd only seen the true facets of her personality today, and maybe a little bit yesterday. A lot of the things she did and said were very cute, the way she was all full of herself one moment, apologetic the next. The confidence she had in herself was something she was only just recovering. But the way she regarded him made him arguably warm inside. When she called him the 'alpha', it made him wonder, is that how she sees him? As a pack leader? Was she just being friendly with him because he was in charge, or did it go _deeper_ than that?

He stared down his erection, thinking it would go away if he looked at it hard enough, but images of the Glaceon wrapping her flawless facial features around it came flooding into his mind instead, making it that much harder.

As badly as he wanted to relieve himself to those images, he put it out of his mind, as he wouldn't be able to look her straight in the eye after doing such a thing. He resolved that he just needed to get over it. She may have been warming up to him, but she still harbored a general resentment to humans—the two of them becoming some sort of item was something that would probably never happen, contrary to what Mace seemed to believe.

Her being weirded out by the prospect of humans and pokemon being intimate earlier only cemented this.

Finishing up with his shower, the man changed into a fresh set of clothes, glad to be out of his work uniform—if only for the evening—opting for a simple, long-sleeve green shirt with a blue pokeball pattern sewn into it, and some chinos.

There were two bathrooms in the house, one connected to his bedroom, and another upstairs. The one he'd typically bathed in was of course the one situated in his room.

Stepping out of his bedroom whilst still drying his long hair with a towel, he fiddled with the door for a moment, before it fell to the side, still unhinged at the top from where he'd kicked it down during the final avalanche.

"Uhnff!" Something squeaked, apparently hit by it as he exited his room.

The ranger moved the towel out of his face, recognizing the voice, but unsure if he was just hearing things or not, moving the damaged door to see the Glaceon sitting there, nursing the pretty fur-crest on her head with a forepaw. "Diamond?"

The ice-type winced one eye shut, regarding him with a sour pout. "Arceus, watch where you're _going_ , why don't you?" She scolded him.

Wrapping the towel around his shoulders, he couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her like that. He had a habit of laughing at her whenever she made that face, as he couldn't help but find it cute. "Hah, sorry about that. I kind of didn't expect to find you hanging around right outside my room… Did you need something?" He asked.

Rubbing her head a little more, she looked him in the eye for a moment, before turning her gaze to the floor, as if in embarrassment. "Um, n-no. Your room is just… well, it's not as warm in this part of the house, that's all." She lied.

Gilliam cocked his head, moving some wet hair out of his eyes. "Don't be silly, I just got done taking a hot shower. My room probably has the highest temperature in the entire building right now."

The Glaceon twitched, feeling like she got caught fibbing. After a moment of silence, her eyes trailed to look up into his that way that she does when she just wanted to look at him, but was slightly shy about it. "…Wow you… ah. You look really… _different_ when you're not in uniform. And with your hair down like that." She commented, trying to change the subject.

She didn't want to tell him that she was sitting outside his room for the sole purpose of being close to him—he'd probably find that creepy, she thought.

"Oh, yeah, sorry—this is the _real_ me. I know I must be a lot less impressive when I'm not in my ranger gear, huh?" He chuckled.

Getting a little bit more comfortable, she made full eye contact with him, shaking her head. "Less intimidating, yeah, less impressive, no. You're still as big as a Machoke." She stated, favoring him with a tiny, endearing grin.

Just for shits and giggles, he rolled up one of his sleeves, flexing his arm for her. "Yeah? Well I arm wrestled a Machoke once and _won_ , so I can see that, kind of." He said with a wink.

Her jaw practically hit the ground. "Wha-… _really_?" she queried, trying not to seem like she was admiring his exposed bicep as much as she probably was.

He rolled his sleeve back down and started laughing. "Haha! No, no, _hell_ no. Hahaha, did you really just _believe_ that? Those things can benchpress **CARS**."

She blushed as the man was getting quite a kick out of her naivety. "Hey, that's not funny! You're the _worst_!" she half growled, half laughed. Part of her wanted to be mad, but a larger part enjoyed being teased by him in such a lighthearted manner.

The man made a gesture as if to wipe a tear, his laughter dying down a bit. "Ah, come on, I'm just playing with you. So you must be bored, huh? That's why you were out here, waiting for me, isn't it? I know you're still not that comfortable with Ed."

She blinked her big, shiny eyes a couple of times, a few mixed emotions playing across her features as she considered how to respond. "I _guess_ you could say that… I just don't really know my way around your house very well, so I guess I kind of followed you. Then you started taking your clothes off, so I uh…" she inadvertently said, admitting that she had been watching him that whole time, so she quickly turned her sentence around, "… so I decided to just wait out here."

The man's face took on a much pinker hue as she mentioned this, so to cover it up, he took his towel and began drying his hair again. "Oh uh, dang. I didn't even realize you were there. I guess you really are pretty sneaky, huh?"

She lowered her ears, looking away timidly. "…Eeeeyup."

After he'd convinced himself that there was no more color showing in his cheeks and that his hair was sufficiently dried, Gilliam took the towel and tossed it into a clothes hamper in his room, which was within arm's reach considering it was right next to the door. "So, you want me to give you the grand tour, huh? I guess I could do that, since you're going to be staying here with us for a while."

The RB Ranger proceeded to give the Glaceon the tour of their home, showing her all of the rooms and whatnot. He started with the hallway, which was connected to his and his brother's bedrooms, as well as the front door and kitchen, as well as the staircase to the upper level. The kitchen doubled as a dining room, and featured a back door exit from their house, as well as the entrance to the basement/detainment facility. Oddly enough, the living quarters were upstairs, whereas in a normal house the bedrooms would be up there, with the living room downstairs. The living area had its own bathroom, and connected to a small attic room that they used mainly for storage, but other than that, that was about all there was to see of the McAllister residence.

When they were finished, they sat and talked on the sofa in the upstairs living room, where Melody had made herself comfortable as well. Edward was doing whatever in his room, probably playing some games on his laptop or some such thing.

"Thanks for showing me around, Gill. I hope I didn't bug you too much—I know you've been busy today." Diamond told him, nestled comfortably against her sister, who snoozed quietly.

Gilliam yawned, looking at his watch. It was nearly 10 PM already. "Huahh…. Don't be ridiculous. You were right there with me doing all the same work, so you've had it just as rough. And it's the least I could do. I want you to feel at _home_ here."

The Glaceon cast him a fond look. "You're doing just fine, in that regard. You're… you're a _good_ person, Gilliam. To be honest, I haven't felt so 'at home' since my parents were still alive. I'm sure Melody feels the same way."

The man was taken aback by this statement, just examining her pretty features for a time, seeing that she was being completely sincere. "That's good to hear. I was a little worried that you wouldn't be comfortable staying here, considering all the things that have been going on lately. But my house is _your_ house, alright? You're welcome to _anything_ that I have." He said, standing up and stretching, "Anyway, are you going to be alright in here? I think I'm going to go to bed."

Diamond, he noticed, hesitated in answering that, looking at him with an expression that explicitly resonated a certain neediness for a moment. "I… um. Yeah, I'm fine. Me and my sister will just sleep here."

"Are you sure? You hesitated for a moment. If you're still hot, just come and wake me up, and I'll see what I can do about getting one of these windows open for you." The ranger told her, turning to head down the stairs to his room.

The ice-type made her best effort to seem like the uncertainty in her voice had just been his imagination. "No, that's okay. You'll wake the whole town up if you start peeling those boards off of the wall where the window is tacked up. And Mel isn't like me—she loves sleeping in a heated environment. Don't worry, I can handle a little bit of extra warmth."

Not entirely sure she was alright, Gilliam stood at the staircase, just looking at her with an air of concern. She definitely seemed like something was wrong. "Do you need a better place to sleep? If you want, _I'll_ sleep on the couch, and you can sleep on the bed in my room. Heat rises, so it should be considerably cooler down there."

She shook her head insistently. "No, no. I _said_ I'm alright up here, I'm not going to take your bed from you, that's ridiculous. This couch isn't even big enough for you to sleep on anyway, since you're huge."

Lingering at the staircase for another brief moment, the man stared at her, not convinced. She made a motion for him to 'shoo' with her paw, before laying her head down next to her sister and closing her eyes.

"…Alright then." He conceded, heading down the staircase.

That night, the man had difficulty getting sleep. He couldn't help but feel that Diamond wasn't being fully honest with him when she said she was fine upstairs, and it worried him. He knew she was an ice-type, used to sleeping in a tundra-like environment, in temperatures around 10 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. His house was currently about 60 degrees or higher, and it was probably a little bit warmer upstairs. He wasn't familiar with what kind of heat a Glaceon would be comfortable living in, so he turned all the heating devices back off before he went to bed, with the exception of the one in Edward's room. (He'd never turned them back on from the last time, of course, but his brother must have while they were gone.)

Even then, he still couldn't sleep. The well-being of the blue quadruped consumed his thoughts, and for some reason he felt like there was more that she wasn't telling him.

An hour passed. Then two. Before long, it was 1 AM.

"Ah, dammit..." He grumbled, flinging the blankets off of himself. He'd just go upstairs and check on her, he thought, swinging his legs off the side of his queen-sized bed, and standing up.

However, as he shuffled towards the door in his pajamas (he was currently wearing no shirt, as he couldn't sleep when wearing one), his foot ran into something in the middle of the floor, something soft and fluffy.

"Eep!" It yelped.

Gilliam took a moment to rub his eyes, but was unable to see in the dark, so he reached for the light switch, and flipped it on.

As his vision adjusted to the change in lighting, a blue blur darted under his bed.

The ranger sighed, shaking his head, but grinned a little bit also. There was no way he could ever deny the Glaceon's innate adorability when she was acting in such a manner.

He lifted the covers, leaning down to look under his bed, where he was met with two big, nervous, glacial blue eyes. "Hey now, don't be so _skittish_. Come on out and talk to me. You can't sleep, either?"

She was silent, and from the darkness of the underside of his bed, he could only see her eyes, which turned to look away from him, narrowing just a little bit in shame.

He sat on the floor. "You're not in _trouble_ , Diamond. Just come here, I'm not _mad_ or anything. I was just about to get up and go check on you, actually."

His gentle words—gradually—coaxed the Glaceon from her hiding spot, and she tentatively scuttled out from under the bed, sitting next to him, but she did not make eye contact. "Why?" she asked.

He answered the question like it had to be obvious. "Well, I was worried about you. I turned off all the heating units except Ed's, but you must be used to sub-zero climates, considering you lived out in the wild. I was afraid the heat might make you sick."

She looked at him, ears lowered. He could see that she was visibly perspiring, and her face was a bit red. "I'm not going to get sick. Just because I'm an Ice-type doesn't mean I'm going to melt like a snowman. I'm built for cold weather, yes, but I'm hot-blooded like you. You might not think it to look at me, but my internal body heat is actually much hotter than yours. This is so I can withstand even the coldest temperatures. That's how it works. I'm not made of _ice_ , or anything." She informed him.

"But you're sweating, and you're all red." He said, suddenly holding a hand up to her head, resting it against the gem-like crest of azure fur, which resembled a tiara of ice.

Her face became more red as he did this. "What… what are you _doing_?"

"I'm checking to see if you have a fever. If your body temperature is that much higher, then being in a warm environment might cause you to overheat, and get sick, like I said. I'm _not_ going to have that if it can be helped. I'll open every window in the _house_ if I have to." He explained to her. She did not appear to have a temperature however, as the fur atop her head was quite cool.

Also incredibly soft. Almost like silk.

"Look, I'm alright. I'm a little hot, yeah, but that's what sweat glands are for. I can deal with heats much worse than this… but it's hotter upstairs, so I just… I came down here to cool off a little, that's all." She explicated, averting her eyes as he removed his hand from her head.

He gave her a stern look. "I _told_ you if you got uncomfortable to wake me up. You don't _have_ to be embarrassed."

She scoffed, still not making eye contact. "Embarrassed, about _what_? Getting caught creeping up in here like some kind of _weirdo_ while you're sleeping? Nope, not me. That's not the _least_ bit humiliating." She stated sarcastically, the hue in her cheeks deepening.

The man examined her for a moment, now realizing why her face was so red. She _wanted_ to wake him up, but was still too shy to do-so.

Without another word, the man reached over, and picked her up by her petite waist.

"Kyaa-hey! _What_ …" She began, squirming a bit. He stood up and set her on his bed, before turning around and heading toward his closet, where he kept a few things.

"You're sleeping in _here_ tonight. I've got something that might make it a little bit more tolerable for you, just let me see if I can find it…" He said, going through a few things he had packed in the back, behind the clothes he had hung up.

Watching the man, the Glaceon sat in a bit of anxiety, but didn't move from the spot where he'd set her. She had only just begun to notice he wasn't wearing a shirt. Being picked up and handled by him while he was _like_ that hit her in the fullest sense, triggering a coursing of butterflies throughout her stomach. 'Why _is_ it I can't **stand** being _away_ from him?' she wondered.

"Oh, perfect! Here it is." The man declared, pulling a large, box-shaped device out of the depths of his closet, and turning around with it.

She did not recognize the object, cocking her head as she scrutinized it. It was a metal machine that contained a propeller-like piece of plastic on the inside, with little grids of steel lining the outsides, and a long cord hanging from what looked like some kind of engine inside of a box. "What… what _is_ it?"

The man moved a few things off of his night stand, before setting it on top, adjusting it so that it was pointing at her. He then bent back, shifting the piece of furniture supporting it so that he could gain access to the outlet behind it. "It's an electric fan. You've never seen a fan before? It's pretty simple really. Here, let me _show_ you."

As he said this, he plugged the thing, in, turning it on to its highest setting.

The machine hummed to life, the propeller within rotating at a slow speed at first, then increasing in velocity, producing a strong flow of wind, which blew her ears, and the lengthy tassels of her headfur along like a gentle breeze, cooling her almost immediately.

"Kyeee!" She yipped at first, jumping a bit in surprise, before realizing the sensation was rather pleasant, "…Oh? Ohhh. Hmm…" She sighed, closing her eyes and sitting back down as her nerves gradually melted away.

Gilliam sat down on the bed next to her, studying her expression. "Does _that_ feel a bit better?" He asked, gently.

She didn't open her eyes, but she did go from a sitting position to a laying one, thoroughly enjoying a luxury she'd never had out in the wild. She had always been very fond of a good gust of wind. "…Yeah. _So_ much better…"

He smiled, infinitely pleased that he was able to come up with a solution that appealed to her. Unable to resist, he reached out and stroked the back of her neck, very delicately. "That's good. You just lay there and try to _cool_ yourself off, maybe get some sleep. I'll be upstairs if you need me, okay?"

She nodded in a wistful manner, still not opening her eyes. "Mm-hmm..." She cooed.

However, her eyes snapped open when the man started to get up off the bed, and she halted his standing with an outstretched paw, gripping at the material of his pajamas with partially extended little claws. "Wait!"

He looked at the digit she'd set upon his lap, then at her, blinking a few times in confusion.

Her expression was a pleading one. "Don't… don't _go_." She whispered.

He looked at her face. She turned pink again, and he couldn't help but smile. "I _told_ you it was okay. I don't _mind_ sleeping on the couch." He reassured her.

Her ears lowered, and she glanced at the fan again, trying to find any excuse not to look him in the eyes. "… _Please_ stay...? I don't _want_ to chase you out of your bed."

The man, utterly tickled by her adorable mixture of shyness and stubbornness, couldn't help but grin. "Diamond… Are _you_ asking me to stay down here and sleep on my bed with you?"

She twitched anxiously as he said that, her cheeks taking on the hue of rubies, ears drooping even more than before. "…Yes." She admitted, almost inaudibly, "Is… is that _weird_ …?"

The man's heart leaped at her honesty in answering that. Maybe she was just a little more insecure than he'd first figured. Maybe his presence brought her comfort in a way he didn't quite comprehend. Either way, sleeping in the same bed wasn't something he was going to say no to, as there _was_ in fact plenty of room, and he _was_ in fact worried about her. He'd gladly do anything to make her feel more comfortable in staying there, even if it seemed a bit odd, considering they hadn't even known each other that long. He'd just have to make a note to resist the urge to cuddle with her the entire night, he thought, laughing lightheartedly. "Hah, no, not really. It's actually kind of cute." He admitted to her.

She tucked herself into the spot she was laying in, trying to make herself smaller, as she was highly affected by him calling her cute. "So… you'll _stay_ here with me?" She asked, this time making eye contact, making full use of her big, puppy-like peepers as she looked at him in a manner nobody on earth with an actual heart would possibly be able to say 'no' to.

The man stood up and went to the other side of the room, but only to turn the lights back off. After doing that, he situated himself on the other side of the bed, making sure to give her plenty of room, and pulled the blankets over himself. "You're _way_ too good at making the 'pretty please' face for me to ever say no to you, to be honest." He chuckled, getting comfortable.

Grinning at the realization that she had the ability to milk her innate adorableness to get the man to do what she wanted, she allowed herself a small amount of giddiness, doing a celebratory little happy dance in that position, before quickly calming down. She really needed to learn to get ahold of herself around him, she thought. All of her actions when he was near her seemed to be thrown out of _whack_ , and random. There were so many _urges_ that she simply couldn't fight when he was nearby, and she didn't really know why. But what she _did_ know was that she was glad he was such an understanding individual. Perhaps she'd give in to just… _one_ more of those urges, though.

"Thanks..." She said to him, placing a gentle lick across his cheek, before turning to lay back in her spot, and stretching out in front of the fan before closing her eyes.

The man laid there, placing a hand to his cheek where she'd lapped at it. Her tongue was cool, and slippery, leaving a cold sensation where it had touched, which was shortly melted away by the heat that rose within his face. The feel of that one little gesture was so soft, it was almost angelic. Now that the lights were out, perhaps that gave her the courage she needed to _do_ something like that? He could only guess at whether she thought a bit _more_ of him than he'd first assumed, or if it was just her way of showing appreciation. It could have just been the whole 'alpha' thing. Maybe it was just her instincts kicking in.

"Good night, Diamond." He whispered, smiling to himself as he settled in, trying to put those questions aside, for the time being. He had a feeling he would sleep a lot better than he initially thought that night, after all.

*End Chapter 6*


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Do not own pokemon, of course. If you're not fond of pokephilia, people attracted to pokemon, or anything of the sort, please stop here and get out because I don't need to accumulate hate just because it's something I like reading and writing about. In this story pokephilia is not illegal and a fairly common practice, as pokemon have evolved to the point that they all speak English, eliminating the speech barrier—and realistically, that barrier is the only thing keeping it from being just as common as interracial or gay relationships, considering they're cute, intelligent, and sentient.

Chapter 7: "Secrets of the Subconscious"

The man was in his typical RBR getup, looking at a map he'd gotten in that area, which he was— for the moment—unfamiliar with.

Oddly, he wasn't certain what he was doing there, at the inn, or even where 'there' was, but for whatever reason, it didn't seem all that prevalent at the moment.

"So you need single room for one, for one evening, correct?" The hostess asked him, after he signed his name in her customer record book.

Diamond jumped up onto the counter, startling the woman. "That's a room for _two_ , thank you very much."

The lady looked like she didn't know what to say immediately, so Gilliam just scratched his head sheepishly in the prevailing awkwardness that ensued. "Eh, yeah, she doesn't like to be kept in a pokeball. Not that I have one for her. We're just kind of traveling together at the moment."

"What he _means_ to say is I'm his **partner**." She corrected him, giving him a stern look.

The lady sifted through some paperwork, trying to gain a grasp of what their customers wanted. "So… what you mean is, you want a two bed room?"

Gilliam started to nod his head in confirmation of that, not minding paying the extra, but the Glaceon quickly interrupted him. "No, no, that won't be necessary. I was just making sure you knew I was here. I don't know how you humans do these sort of things, but I didn't want Gill here inadvertently sneaking me in if my presence was something that was supposed to cost extra." She informed her.

The clerk shook her head. "No, pokemon partners, captured or otherwise are not counted towards the total number of guests here. You don't have to worry about that." The lady reassured them.

After receiving the keys to their room, the two took the elevator up to the level upon which it was located.

"You know, I really wouldn't have minded paying for another bed for you to sleep on, Diamond." He told her, trying to ignore the cliché music playing in the background of the cab.

She rubbed herself against his leg affectionately. "Now _why_ would we go and do that? We've been sleeping together in the same bed for a _while_ now… you _know_ I can't get any rest unless you're right there _next_ to me, Gill."

He blushed as she made a note to really grind up against his leg, ensuring he got the idea. He didn't recall sleeping with her except for the once for some reason, but accepted what she was saying as the truth regardless. "Well, yeah, but…"

The elevator dinged before he could finish that sentence, and the ice-type trotted out, seeming excited at the prospect of checking out their room for the evening. "But nothing! Come on, let's go check it out! What room number was it again?"

He looked at the key card he had been given. "205. I mean, it's a pretty nice inn, but it's not like it's a hotel or anything. I'm sure it's not all that extravagant. I didn't pay _that_ much for it."

"As long as I have a bed, room service, and _you_ , I'm sure I'll manage." She giggled, once again being _far_ more familiar with him than he recalled her being able to do so comfortably.

As they walked down the hall to their room, she moved in front of him, possibly in a much more… erotic manner than was necessary. The way she almost moved in slow motion, her tail up, and hind-quarters waving back and forth made his blood boil, his eyes unable to look anywhere else.

Before they made it to their destination, she glanced back at him with a smirk and narrowed her eyes, in an unmistakably _seductive_ manner. Almost as if to suggest she _knew_ **exactly** what it was he was staring at, and didn't mind in the slightest bit. Was she doing this on _purpose_ , he wondered?

"Th… This is it." He gulped, tearing his gaze from her deliciously plump back-side, regarding the door to their room. She tittered at the look on his face, never averting her eyes or changing that flirtatious expression as he slid the key card in along the available card reader on the door, unlocking it.

When it was open, the room was actually a lot more impressive than he thought it was going to be, with a nice, lavishly huge bed, a gigantic flat-screen TV, and an entire kitchen section, as well as a balcony view of a glorious beach setting.

For some reason, he didn't feel the need to question why he was wearing a trench coat at a beach hotel, or why the ice-type seemed to be so comfortable in such a climate, or even how their piddley little inn just transformed into a 5-star resort. Everything made perfect sense, regardless of making no sense whatsoever.

After taking in the scenery for a moment through the glass sliding door that led to the balcony, he turned around. The Glaceon was sitting on the bed in a somewhat provocative position, as if having waited for him to give her some attention. "So, how's the view?" She asked, with a bewitching grin.

He felt the urge to say it. He _had_ to say it. There was no **not** saying it. "Not _half_ as pretty as _you._ " He chuckled, winking at her.

Diamond shifted her position into what was possibly the only one in _existence_ that was more 'come-hither' than the one she had been in before, turning around and lowering herself, hiking her rear up in the air, her tail currently held low, as if to tease him. She favored him with the same inviting stare as she had before. "Of course, It's not like I didn't notice you getting an eye-full of _that_ view just a few moments ago, either. Why don't you come a little _closer_ , so you can get a better _look_ …?"

As two very specific parts of him burned like the Alolan sun, one more-so than the other, his embarrassment seemed to be a thing of the past, as the situation degenerated into acting upon desires rather than morals, any questions of right and wrong being thrown out the window as he wordlessly complied, stepping nearer to her.

For a quadruped, her posterior really _was_ something to behold. The way her slender body cascaded into it showed it to be her center of gravity, but it wasn't so _massive_ as to be considered fat, just voluptuous—the musculature of it was veiled with a small amount of pudge, in _just_ the right way for her powerful back legs to look as attractive as possible, particularly to any individual fond of the _lower_ half of the hourglass shape. To someone with the capacity for being attracted to the more feral types of pokemon, she was a dream come _true_.

Given that he was standing up, and her being on the edge of the bed, her backside was perfectly situated at level with his crotch, which was undergoing the expected reactions a male experiences when eye-candy triggers that inevitable _yearning_ for being able to do a bit _more_ than just _look_.

Craning her head back to see him while still keeping her front low, a positively _beguiling_ smirk spread across her features, as she pushed back a bit, grinding her magnificent butt up against his groin. "Oh me, oh _my_ , I could smell that _desire_ coming from a **mile** away. Why are you being so _shy_? We'll _both_ get more out of this if you get a good _grip_ …" She suggested.

Clearly not needing to be told twice, Gill removed his gloves so that he could enjoy the full feel of her bountiful backside, before slowly taking hold of two, big handfuls of it, the combination of softness and suppleness utterly blowing his _mind_.

"Mmm, yesss... You always squeeze it so _HARD_ …" She cooed, her tongue lolling out of her muzzle for a brief moment as she glanced back at him with a look of lustful ecstasy. "Mmph. Maybe it's about time I showed you the _uncensored_ version…"

As she said this, she lifted her tail up as _slowly_ as she possibly could, and in her grinding position, that caused it to drag up along his hardening member, the sensation _already_ bringing him to the pinnacle of arousal, as he groaned amorously.

Clearly being invited to do-so, he squeezed her cheeks a bit harder, spreading them apart, and moving himself back a bit so that he could see _everything_ she was about to offer him…

…Until her butt randomly hopped up from its position, and planted itself firmly in his face, as if by magnetism.

The man awoke suddenly to the sound of loud snoring, and the gentle humming of the electric fan, but mostly to the sensation of being unable to breathe.

An extremely large, furry mass had covered his entire face, and the most he could do was mumble obscenities from beneath it, wresting the object from his mouth, so he could once again get sufficient oxygen.

Diamond snorted a little bit, but did not rouse beyond that, as she rolled over. He blushed deeply, realizing that at _some_ point during her slumber, she had shifted in a way that turned his head into a pillow for her bodacious booty.

"*Snk**Zzzz* Hmm…" She stirred, readjusting herself, before the snoring resumed.

As glad as he was she hadn't awakened, it took _every_ bit of the willpower he had built up over years of being a law-enforcer not to try and alleviate himself of what was quite possibly the most _painful_ erection of his entire life right then and there. Stepping as quietly as he could out of the bed with the offending morning wood, the man opted to quickly adjourn to his bathroom for a much needed, extremely _cold_ shower.

"Maybe letting her sleep with me wasn't such a good idea, after all…" He grumbled, wincing underneath the streams of icy water.

Though the things that had happened in the dream had begun to blur already, he felt that he'd acted in a manner not befitting of a ranger. _Certainly_ a manner he never would have acted in reality. There was no controlling the subconscious, however. He was already 30 years old, pent-up as hell, and hadn't enjoyed any form of intercourse for nearly 8 years now. A little wet-dream on the first evening he shared his bed with a girl since he was about _Mace's_ age was to be expected. Hopefully, like most of his dreams, he'd just forget about it in a couple of hours. Perhaps then, he wouldn't have to worry about getting a _hard_ - _on_ every time he looked at the Glaceon.

After he'd tended to himself, he stepped out of the shower, shivering in the cold. With the fan running in his bedroom, stirring the already frigid early morning air up, the icy water still clinging to his flesh in tiny droplets, and the fact that the majority of the house's heating had been turned off for the entire night, he couldn't help but feel like he'd been hit by one of Diamond's blizzards while wearing nothing.

In spite of himself, he chuckled at that thought. She probably _would_ hit him with one of those if she'd known just what warped little fantasy had gone through his head while he had been sleeping right next to her, even if it _was_ all subconscious.

He shook off the thoughts, and much of the chill he felt at the temperature with it. He had no trouble doing this once he'd managed to get himself dried off. He was a fully trained Hailcoat of the Riot Ball Rangers. His body had been intensely conditioned to endure even the most debilitating of environments—it would take a lot more than this to really bother him, at least when he was dry.

Wrapping a towel around his waist, he poked his head out of the bathroom to look in the slumbering eeveelution's direction, as any number of awkward things could have happened were she to see him like that, and all his clothes were in the drawers of his dresser in the bedroom, or in his closet. Fortunately, she seemed just as asleep as before, laying on her back with her paws up in the air, mouth wide open and drool leaking out—still snoring in such an obnoxious manner, he couldn't help but find it adorable.

"Haha. She sure sleeps hard for someone with such acute senses. Must have been really exhausted last night, poor thing." He chuckled to himself, as he retrieved the clothes he typically wore underneath his RBR uniform, knowing it wouldn't be long before he had to do his rounds. This consisted of a white flannel shirt underneath a turtleneck that varied in color, depending on what he was in the mood for. Today he chose brown. Also picking out a pair of matching cargo pants, he went to dressing himself wordlessly, trying not to make too much noise as he glanced in Diamond's direction every now and then.

When he was decent, he went over to his alarm clock, which had been set to wake him up at about 8AM. It was only 7:36. Making sure to set it to where it wouldn't go off, since he was already awake, he yawned. Even though he didn't get his typical 8 hours, he felt pretty well rested.

Now that he had a small window of time to himself, he opted to make some coffee, to try to wake himself up a little bit, and stepped off towards the kitchen to do so, leaving the Glaceon to get some much-needed rest.

Diamond, meanwhile, was having a dream of her own.

It was Spring in Snowbelle, and though that didn't do much for the constant snow that coated the area year-round, it was considerably less than the norm, and was warmer than usual, with a clear sky. Birds were singing, and whatever had the tenacity to do so in such a northern region bloomed to the best of its ability.

She was by herself, hanging around in the town square, just watching people do their daily grind, not really sure why she was there, though she didn't particularly care, either.

Suddenly Melody approached her from across the street, a happy look plastered to her cute face. She was clearly elated about something.

"Hi Sister. What are you doing out here all by yourself? Everyone's wondering where you are." She asked. It did not seem odd to her that she could speak. It was as if she'd never lost her voice in the first place.

The ice-type cocked her head, wondering who 'everyone' was, and why they'd be looking for _her_ of all people. "What are you talking about, Mel?"

The Eevee giggled in her sweet voice, acting as if she was being teased. "Oh come on, there's no _way_ you forgot what day it is today? It's all about to _start_." She informed her older sibling.

The Glaceon had no idea what she could've possibly been referring to. "Huh? _What's_ about to start?" she asked.

Melody's face took a turn for confusion, then one of distress once she realized her sister was being serious. "Diamond. The wedding. We're going to miss the _wedding_."

Matrimony was not something even wild pokemon were unfamiliar with, though it was not something they typically did themselves. It was more of a human tradition, but she knew it was a matter of officially promising one's self to a life-mate. She pulled a face. "Wedding? That's not even something I think I want to have to sit through. Everything I hear makes it sound kind of boring." She said, licking herself rather disdainfully. She didn't want to waste her time on such a thing, even if she wasn't really doing much.

"But it's _Gilliam's_ wedding." She added.

Diamond's heart suddenly dipped into the pit of her stomach, as she stopped her grooming slowly, turning to regard her sister with wide eyes. "….Wait… What?"

The brown little fox pouted. "Gill really wants us to be there, Diamond. We're his _friends_. He wants us to be there to support him. There's going to be sweets and a party. Don't you think you should at least _show_ up?"

Before she knew it, her breathing had quickened, and she stood up more stiffly. "You're… Mel, you're not making any sense. Gill doesn't _have_ a mate. He doesn't have…"

Her sister cocked her head. "What's wrong, sister, you look like you've seen a ghost-type? And of _course_ he has a mate. They've been together for months. She's a very pretty human, remember? They've been talking about this for a long time… Did you really forget?"

"Shut up! You're _lying_!" She barked, suddenly in denial and infuriated. Melody winced, taking a few steps back, and shaking at her sibling's sudden outburst. "Gilliam would _never_ keep something like that from me!"

The normal-type whimpered for a moment, not wanting to make her more upset than she already was. "H.. he said he wanted it to be a _surprise_ … the wedding I mean. Why are you so **mad**?" She asked, quietly.

Before she could answer, Diamond realized she didn't actually _know_ why. Something about it made her feel betrayed. Something about it made her feel cheated. Something about it made her feel… alone. "I'm… I'm not _mad_. Why would I **care** , anyway… It's not like…" She trailed, having no idea where that sentence was going.

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's just go. You'll feel better once you see how nice all the decorations are, come on." Melody insisted, walking behind her sister and pushing her along by bumping her head against her backside.

There was no perception of the passage of time. It was as if everything flashed forward for her, with some other familiar faces, standing in a place of worship, which had been fully decked out with all the white and frilly things one might associate with that type of event.

Gilliam was outfitted in a fancy suit with a bowtie, waiting at the podium with another man who appeared to be some type of preacher, and there were some other, more privileged people standing around, like Mace and X, and his brother Edward, all of whom were dressed appropriately.

As the proceedings went on, light seemed to die out in all areas except for one, forcing her to look down the aisle. With an almost horrific amount of overdramatization, the entrance doors opened, and somebody began playing a song on an odd instrument, as a human woman stepped through, wearing a dress of all white, her face totally covered in a thin veil.

Whereas the music was supposed to be festive, and representative of new beginnings for two people ready to start a promising relationship together, she could not help but find it… chilling.

The mystery woman stepped down the aisle, as everyone regarded her with fond smiles of well-wishing, and looks of happiness. All except for her. Who was this…. this _human_? Where did she _come_ from? What did Gilliam see in her? **Why**?

When the lady had made it down the aisle to the lectern to stand next to her husband-to-be, the proceedings went on as normal, but the pokemon was not listening to anything that was being said.

She felt immobilized, paralyzed with a strange dread. Plagued with so many questions about herself and about the ranger. How could he have not told her he was _seeing_ somebody? Was there less trust between them than she'd originally thought? Didn't he think she might like to _know_? To talk to her about how _she_ felt about it? What did this woman have that she _didn't_? Why was she making such a comparison in the first place? And why… did she feel like she was about to lose something more _important_ to her than life itself…?

"If anyone objects to the union of these two, please speak now." The preacher suddenly said, turning to look over the audience.

Hearing this, Diamond burned with the desire to act. To _do_ something. To _say_ something. She had to put a _stop_ to this, right here and **now**. She opened her mouth…. But her voice stuck in her throat. She couldn't make a sound. Couldn't move. All of her basic functions had suddenly deactivated, as if by some cruel curse of destiny. Totally frozen. Ice-types weren't supposed to be able to freeze… why _now_? Why _here_?

"Then, by the power vested in me, you may now kiss the bride." The man at the pulpit declared.

And in that next fateful moment, the veil was lifted, and the two humans kissed.

Diamond felt her heart utterly _shatter_ , like a block of ice pounded with a full-force focus punch.

She felt like crying, but the tears wouldn't come. This was even worse than when Gill had taken her to the grave site. Ten times worse. A hundred times worse.

She couldn't believe it. He was… he was gone. She could _never_ have him now. Not in the way she had wanted. In that moment, her feelings became so _clear_. But it was… too late.

And just when she thought she couldn't be any more _miserable_ , the woman turned from Gilliam, showing her beautiful face, looking her right in the eye. The lady sneered, as if she _knew_ she had stolen him from her, and was _proud_ of it.

Bursting into wakefulness, the Glaceon shot out of the bed in a manner only one who'd had a terrible nightmare would be capable of, knocking the electric fan along with her down onto the floor, creating a tremendous clatter of steel against wood.

The device had been unplugged in the process of this, the blades slowly decelerating, as she laid there, shaken and in a cold sweat, struggling to give her fitful respiration any form of pattern, that she might be able to catch her breath.

Not a brief moment later, Gilliam came storming into the bedroom, looking left and right.

"Diamond? What was that, what the _hell_ happened, are you _alright_?!" he demanded to know.

She however didn't answer him, somehow winded from the experience as if she'd been struck by a powerful physical blow. Not having heard her response, and his view of her being blocked from where he'd been standing, the ranger moved to the other side of the bed, crouching down next to her.

"Hey, what's going on, are you—" he began, reaching a hand out.

Suddenly however, she jumped onto him, latching onto his clothes with her claws. The surprise of this caused him to fall from a kneeling position to a sitting one.

Though the evidence suggested she'd just fallen out of bed, her countenance, sense of distress when she'd grabbed him, and the fact that she was shivering gave him more than enough cause for worry. They sat like that in silence for a time, as she clung to him, almost like a child does with their parents after having seen some kind of monster in their closet.

Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her down a bit.

"It's alright. I'm right _here_." He said as gently as he could.

She still did not yet have the strength to put anything into words, simply burying her face into his shirt for a long moment, accepting his touch, as her trembling slowly died down.

He realized she must have had a very different type of dream than he had, from the way she was acting. He understood what it was like to have nightmares. When you awake from a particularly painful one, all you want is _somebody_ to hold onto, so that you don't have to feel so frightened and alone. He'd gone through it many times himself… although usually he didn't have another there to soothe him. Not someone he'd be comfortable showing that side of himself to, anyway.

He stroked her back consolingly, if only to make her less tense. "It's okay, it was just a dream..."

It had crossed his mind to ask her about it, but he knew it would not be tactful to do-so while the feelings of fright were still so fresh in her mind, so he simply did the best he could to cradle her until she decided she wanted to be let go.

However, oddly enough, moments passed, and she didn't do anything to suggest that she did. In fact, when he tried to pull back, she clung to him even harder.

"Must've been pretty _bad_ , huh…?" He sighed.

Rather than answering him, she looked up into his eyes, as if studying him. He couldn't help but pinken a bit at the way she was staring at him so intensely, as if coming to terms with what she wanted to say or do. Looking into her gaze was like staring into two big aquamarines, though the way the light shone in them, there was a bit of an emotional waver. The kind that comes with a lot of internal conflict.

As she took solace in the fact that none of what had just transpired in her mind had actually happened, her thoughts turned to reality as she analyzed every aspect of the ranger's expression. He'd come so _quickly_ to her aid when he heard something go wrong. He didn't hesitate, even for a moment.

He'd let her sleep in his _own_ bed, and when she asked him to, he _stayed_ with her, even though he probably thought that was strange. He'd saved her from a life of vengeance-driven sin, and even took risks to _himself_ to make sure she was not punished for the atrocities she'd committed, even though she _should_ have been. He'd taken her and her sister in—contrary to the _terrible_ things she'd done—like they were his own _family_. He _wanted_ to help her be a better person, and was doing everything in his power to push her to do that. It was not due to a sense of justice, or duty like she'd first thought. He genuinely _cared_.

She could not even begin to fathom how anybody, human or pokemon, could be so selfless and kind. But it was something she admired so _deeply_ , the thought of being apart from him became more and more painful the longer she spent getting to know him.

This man, she thought. He truly _was_ different. He truly _did_ mean something to her. Something _more_ than she was able to admit. She couldn't deny it any longer, at least not to _herself_.

…She had _feelings_ for him.

"…Diamond, you know you _really_ make me kind of nervous when you _look_ at me like that…" the ranger told her through a slightly cracking voice, looking in the other direction as he rubbed the back of his head.

His cheeks were red as he said this. She did in fact take note, though she assumed it's because they hadn't known each other that long, and she was kind of on top of him.

"Oh. Right, sorry. I just… I don't know. Looking at your face sort of brings me comfort." She told him, being at least slightly honest as she let him go, stepping off of him.

He sat up, wondering if she really meant that. "What, _this_ ugly mug?" He chuckled, indicating the features in question. Perhaps he was just trying to lighten the mood, which had become rather heavy.

She sat on the floor herself, clearly more composed than before. Troubled, yes, but now in-touch enough with the gravity of things that she was able to approach them more realistically. She cast him an unamused glance as she licked a paw, fixing the fur on one of her long ears. "Don't be stupid. You're very attractive for a human."

She stated this so flatly that he couldn't help but be surprised. Like she wasn't even _ashamed_ to say it. Normally she'd be embarrassed to admit such a thing. Or at least far too _proud_. Did something _happen_ without his knowing? She'd said it like it was common sense. "Kind of funny to hear that coming from someone who looks like _you_ do."

Something about this seemed to catch her interest, though she was blatantly casual about it, as she grinned, fluttering her eyelashes at him in an almost flirtatious manner. "Oh, is _that_ so? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were calling me _pretty_ again." She teased.

"A fact is a fact." He teased back, standing up. No matter how embarrassing it was, it seemed _criminal_ to try and lie about something he deemed so _obvious_. Though, the knowledge that she remembered his _saying_ that the other day in the kitchen threatened to bring even more color to his cheeks.

She turned around, as if being disdainful, raising her snout like a spoiled child. "I _suppose_ I can't argue with that." She conceded, making a bit of a recurring joke, remembering that last time she had said such a thing in the face of factual evidence, he had found it humorous.

Little did he know, she was only throwing that out as a cover-up act. The real reason she had turned around was to hide the inevitable blush, and dopey smile that came along with hearing him compliment her on her looks in such a way. Of course, she didn't seem to realize her tail was waving left and right, a key indicator of her delight.

"Haha, as usual, you bounce back pretty fast. Do.. uh… " He trailed, "Do you want to talk about-"

"No, that's alright. I forgot what it was about already, anyway. No big deal. Don't worry about it." She lied.

Though he didn't feel entirely convinced, neither was he about to press her on a subject she clearly didn't wish to revisit. "Oh… well, okay then. Do you want something to eat?"

The prospect of him making food for her pleased her more than it probably should have, but she felt like a meal would be a good start to the day, regardless of exactly why. "I could eat." She told him.

Gilliam prepared a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and sausage—a simple affair, but good enough to satisfy anyone's needs. As he'd stated before, he couldn't cook quite like Edward, but nobody in the household seemed to mind. Shortly after he'd begun cooking, both Ed and Melody showed up in the kitchen, yawning and sitting at the table drowsily as they tried to wake themselves up.

As the ranger tended to the edibles, Diamond noticed her sister leaning against the younger boy as she nodded off a bit in his lap, and without really realizing it, the lad stroked her head fondly. The familiarity they had with one another almost made it seem like they had been living together for a very long time.

She found it a little odd. Melody was never so affectionate towards _anybody_ so soon after meeting them. _Particularly_ not humans. Then again, Ed was a lot nicer to her than most of his kind ever were. Maybe she was just enjoying the attention—for the last couple of years, she _had_ been rather lonely, and she could only provide her with so much company.

After everybody had some food, Gill cleaned everything up, and did the dishes right after that. They seemed to have a rule about washing things subsequent to using them, probably to prevent dirty plates and cutlery from stacking up.

Just then there was a knock at the front door.

The hailcoat wiped his hands dry, before glancing at his watch. "Huh. Kind of early for someone to visit. Hang on, I'll get it." He said to the others, setting down his hand-towel in the sink, before heading into the hallway to see who it was.

Diamond followed him, if not because she was curious, simply because she didn't want him to end up going somewhere without her.

The man answered the door, still dressed in only his turtleneck and cargo pants. Outside stood a modestly dressed young lady the ice-type had never seen before.

The woman had an irritated look on her face, as though impatient, but it changed to a more polite expression when coming face to face with the ranger. "Oh, thank _goodness_. I'm sorry to bother you officer McAllister—I know you haven't begun your work yet today, but… there's a bit of a ruckus going on close to the pokemon center." She informed him.

The ranger scratched his beard. "Really. Another unsanctioned trainer battle?" He asked, already seeming to know what was going on.

The lady nodded. "Yes. Couple of young badge-collectors got into an argument, and they're settling it the only way they know how. The pokemon they're battling with are very large and destructive. If you don't stop them, it could cause a decent amount of damage."

"What about Wulfric?" Gilliam asked.

"He's at the pokemon village again. The trainers probably got tired of waiting for him and decided to just take their frustrations out on one another." The woman conjectured.

Diamond's ear twitched. She was surprised to hear mention of the village. Not many people knew about it—even on the pokemon side of the equation. Also, she wasn't sure who this Wulfric person was, but the name sounded somehow familiar to her.

"Well, that figures. Looks like I'm going to have to lecture the old guy again… *sigh* Anyway, thanks for the info. I'll be right out there to put an end to it." He promised, bidding the woman a polite farewell before shutting the door.

"What's going on?" Diamond asked—she had a general idea, though she wanted to hear it from the ranger first, "And _how_ did you know why she was here before she even had a chance to tell you?"

The man began putting his snow boots—which he kept next to the front door—on. "Couple of young, hot-headed trainers having a pokemon battle where they're not allowed. It's illegal to have any sort of battle inside of a town's boundaries unless you're in the Pokemon Gym." He informed her. "And I knew because the only time Lucy ever talks to me is for that exact same reason. She's a nosy woman who reports anything even remotely illegal immediately, even if it's not that big of a deal. Sort of what you'd call a 'tattle-tail'. Still, can't really say much bad about her, since she does kind of make my job a little easier. Anyway, I have to go."

She narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed that he would suggest she'd stay here while he went out to do something that could be potentially dangerous. "You're _not_ going by yourself. You'll probably need my help." She insisted.

Gilliam finished strapping on his boots, then grabbing his RBR trenchcoat off of the coatrack, and putting it on. "As much as I appreciate the offer, I _don't_ actually. I deal with this sort of thing every _day_. And I don't really _need_ you seeing a couple of brats ordering their pokemon to beat the crap out of each other and regressing back to your previous view on humans, particularly not right after you seemed to be having a breakthrough. I was _kind_ _of_ enjoying the trust you've been putting in me." He stated, quite serious suddenly.

She didn't know whether to feel _touched_ that he didn't want her to go back to her original opinion on humans, or _insulted_ that he thought it would affect the way she felt about him. "I don't _care_. If they want to listen to snot-nosed human cubs and only get a breath of fresh air whenever they have a fight to win, that's _their_ business, not _mine_. I _know_ not all humans are like that now that I've met _you_ , Gill. I won't go overboard, I _promise_. Just let me come _with_ you. I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

The law-enforcer stared at her for a moment. Like her, he felt two different ways at once, not knowing whether to feel joy in her worrying about him, or disappointment that she didn't think he could handle it. Turning to his belt of RBR equipment, he produced one of his Riot Balls, showing it to her. "Do you _remember_ what this is?"

She took a step back, as memories of the glowing ball came back to her in a rush of disjointed images and feelings. It was the same kind of ball he used on her when he first placed her under arrest. The only kind of ball he carried. "…A Riot Ball?"

He nodded, having prior described to her the way they function, and exactly what they were capable of doing. He reattached it to its appropriate notch on the belt, switching it for his Riot Rod, which was currently collapsed. "That's good, Diamond. What about _this_?" He asked her.

Again, memories of the pain that device inflicted upon her came flooding back into her mind. He had hit her with it so _hard_ that it felt like he nearly snapped her neck. Then the sensation of being shocked and burned all at once left her nearly helpless, and would have incapacitated her had her adrenaline not been rushing at the time. He had—of course—apologized for this numerous times, though she didn't hold it against him. It was only self-defense. "All right, all right, I get it, you don't… _need_ my help. But… Don't you _want_ it?"

He fastened the belt around his waist at a stinted pace, the action slowed as he was studying her expression while he did-so, his face taking on a conflicted look.

Seeing that he was _already_ starting to buckle under the pressure, she trained her big eyes on him, fully prepared to _milk_ his guilt in leaving her for all it was worth. Initiate puppy-dog pout. Droop ears, rub together front paws awkwardly. _Maximum_ adorability **overdrive**. His defenses would not last against a full-on assault of this caliber.

He groaned, as if being struck physically, opening the door. "Okay, _okay_ , you can come _with_ me... That is _completely_ unfair, you know that?"

She trotted alongside him triumphantly as they left, quite pleased with herself. "Hehe, you have _your_ overpowered tools, and I have _mine_." She giggled.

"You've really got a lot of nerve, talking down to me like that when you're _stupid_ enough to take on the ice-type gym with a friggin' ground type." The girl said, flipping her bangs out of her face haughtily.

The young boy wasn't about to let her get away with bad-mouthing his strategic approach to a situation just because his team's anchor was at a type disadvantage. If she didn't think his Nidoking could make up for the bad matchup through sheer power alone, he'd just have to show her how wrong she really was. "You're one to talk about type advantage, considering you plan on taking him on with that Aggron, which are doubly weak against ground-type moves." He said, indicating the fully grown rock/steel-type she had sent out.

The Aggron groaned in irritation, glancing at his trainer. "You _know_ we could get into trouble for doing this, right?" He reminded her.

The Nidoking standing next to the boy wasn't about to disobey his trainer, either, but couldn't help but agree, also turning to look at his master. "He's got a point you know. It's against league rules. If we get caught, you could both get your trainer cards taken away."

"Please. There are hardly _any_ cops in this sleepy little town. Besides, the Gym is locked. It's not like you to _wuss_ out, Thorn." The lad scoffed, folding his arms.

The girl, for once since they'd met, agreed with the other trainer. "Same goes for you, Alloy—you need to remember who's in _charge_ , here. Now use Heavy Slam!" She commanded.

Alloy the Aggron took a sort of sumo fighting stance, getting ready to throw all of his weight at the Nidoking, needing not fear his poisonous barbs, as he was part steel type. "Well, guess we're doing this. No hard feelings."

Thorn the Nidoking only grinned a toothy grin as he prepared himself as well. "Naturally. Though I hope you're not planning on holding back…"

"Not on your life!" The enormous pokemon roared, unleashing his attack, full-force.

"Move out of the way, and use Earthquake!" The male trainer ordered.

However, seeing the trajectory of the Heavy Slam, Thorn disobeyed, taking the hit himself. If he hadn't, it might have hit his master, who was standing just a bit too close to the action.

"Aww, what the hell do you think you're doing!? I know you saw that coming from a mile away!" The boy stomped, immaturely.

The female trainer smiled smugly. "Hah, what a loser, your pokemon doesn't even do what you tell it to!" She chortled.

Backing away from the foe, who he'd managed to wind but not quite knock down, Alloy examined the damage he'd inflicted with a bit of guilt, realizing exactly why his foe had opted to take the hit. "If you want to quit, I'd do it now." He told the Nidoking, feeling bad that his trainer was so inconsiderate.

Thorn winced, but was still quite alright to battle. "Afraid I can't do that. If Randal doesn't trust me to at least follow his orders, he won't use me in the fight against the gym-leader. And if he doesn't have my help, there's no way he can pull off a win."

"Alright, no big deal. Now's your chance to use Earthquake!" The boy said, ignoring the exchange between the two in its entirety.

Obeying this time, the poison/ground-type stomped the ground, causing it to rumble and crack. The result caused some of the nearby buildings, still damaged by the avalanches, to crack under the tremors, their foundations threatening to give way.

The attack landed as it should have, the Aggron having no real way to dodge, as it fell to the ground, damaged severely by its own weight.

"Get up, Alloy, I know you can take more than that!" The girl called out, trying to keep her own balance as the attack made it very difficult to stand.

Struggling to get up to his feet, the large pokemon had a bit of trouble, knowing he couldn't take another attack like that one. "If you don't give me the go-ahead to end this right here and now, I'm going to lose." He coughed, looking in her direction.

The girl looked at the white bracelet on her wrist, knowing exactly what he meant. "I don't know, isn't that going a little overboard? Last time we did this you lost control." She reminded him.

"Do you want to win or not?" he growled.

Though she hesitated for a moment, the girl nodded. "Alright then, you asked for it. Alloy… unleash your power…" She said, tapping the multicolored stone in the center of the bracelet, which began to glow and pulsate, "…And Mega EVOLVE!"

Randal hadn't noticed the bracelet was fitted with a key stone, having thought it was just a fashion statement, but seeing her tap the prismatic gem and hearing a distinct keening sound, the boy took a step back in alarm. "Wait, you've got to be kidding me!"

Alloy's Aggronite, which had been carefully fitted into a large, spiked collar he was wearing, began pulsating as it reacted to the hum of his trainer's key stone, and he could immediately feel the power coursing through him. Crouching down and rolling himself up in an almost fetal position, he was surrounded by a pinkish purple sphere, almost like he was being placed into some kind of evolutionary cocoon, and after a brief moment of a rather impressive display of concentrated evolution power, this shell shattered, revealing a much larger, smoother Aggron with many more natural weapons, and far thicker armor.

It was right at this point that Gilliam and Diamond were a short dash away from arriving at the scene, only just able to make out the light display in the distance.

The Glaceon had never seen such a thing before, wondering what the power she felt coming from it could possibly be. "What on earth…?"

Gilliam recognized the light however, and immediately broke into a sprint. "Shit! If we don't stop this now things are going to get out of hand!"

Diamond dashed after him, surprised at how fast he was for a bipedal creature. "Gill, wait up!"

The ranger only ran faster, however. He'd dealt with situations involving mega-evolution before. The amount of destruction a mega-evolved pokemon could inflict was second only to legendary and mythical class creatures, and perhaps ultra-beasts. Some mega-evolutions had the potential to be even MORE powerful than _that_. He had seen such things before, and he knew that when younger generation trainers got ahold of keystones prematurely, they often neglected to establish the necessary bond with their pokemon required for them to _control_ this power.

"Alright Alloy, now use-" The girl began, though she was cut off as her pokemon released an ear-splitting screech that forced everyone within the vicinity to cover their ears as their auditory drums threatened to burst, every window and piece of glass within proximity also shattered instantaneously.

Alloy's eyes lost their shine, and the pupils shook with an unfettered rage, a maddened look consuming it's features as it hunched down into a primal, all-fours position, pouncing upon Thorn with all of its weight, much, much faster than it was before.

"Agh! Hey, what are you doing! I didn't tell you to do that!" the girl whined.

Alloy ignored her, slamming its head into Thorn's face viciously and repeatedly. Even after the first attack, the poison/ground type was immediately knocked out, and it went limp, but Alloy would not stop.

"Hey, hey! CALL HIM OFF, he's going to KILL him!" Randal pleaded.

The girl stepped forth, seeing that the situation was indeed rather grave. Head Smash was an incredibly powerful attack—using it in succession like that would prove fatal to anything, regardless of how tough, and damaged its user as well quite a lot, but Alloy did not seem to care, going utterly ballistic. "Alloy, stop that! STOP! It's over, just quit! Can't you hear me!?"

This time, however, the mega-evolved Aggron did hear his trainer, stopping and turning to look at her as it released the bloodied Nidoking, standing up to regard her with a dark, hate-laden look.

The girl began to quiver. "A-… Alloy? That's enough..." She pulled out his pokeball, her intent on returning him to the ball.

Within a trice, however, the Aggron closed the distance between them, swatting the ball out of her hand with a swipe of his tail, causing her to yelp in pain and fall onto her butt in surprise.

Randal, who returned his own pokemon to its ball at this point, stared on in horror. He didn't have anything on his team that could even hope to stop that monster—Thorn was defeated so fast, and he had been by far his strongest partner.

The Aggron growled throatily, it's expression completely lost in an unfathomable rage as its new-found power had spiraled completely out of control, used prematurely. He could only see all the things he hated about his trainer, raising a claw ominously, which could easily end her with a single swipe.

However, its senses had been enhanced despite its fury, and its eyes snapped to attention on a different threat, jumping backward as a glowing, bluish ball came flying from the side at breakneck speed, just narrowly missing and snapping into pieces against the wall of the Gym from how hard it had been thrown. Riot Balls were highly effective, but the stasis-conductive material they were composed of were incredibly fragile.

"Dammit!" Gillaim cursed, whipping out his Riot Rod, and igniting it on the fighting setting, causing it to pulsate with a reddish electrical glow. He took a Kali martial arts stance as the Aggron rounded on him.

"Gill! What… What the HELL _is_ that thing!? I've never seen an Aggron like that before!" Diamond informed him, rushing up to take a stance of her own, positioning herself between the Hailcoat and this new enemy. The man was not having this however, knowing she'd be at a supreme disadvantage against an opponent such as this, so he side-stepped around her, being the separator himself.

"No time to explain! Here he comes!" The ranger exclaimed.

Within a trice, Alloy began a charge that shook the very ground, making a bee line for Gilliam. Though it was indeed fast, the man had dealt with faster opponents, and knew how to take on enemies that had gone berserk, having done-so many times during his career.

As his opponent closed on him for a devastating Heavy Slam, the ranger pivoted around him at the last possible moment, using a karate-derived stepping technique that rotates you around your foe by 90 degrees, causing him to slam into the ground instead, rocking the very earth.

Though Gilliam had planned to counterattack, the tremors caused by this incredibly powerful attack threw him too off balance to do-so immediately.

However, the Mega-Evolved Aggron was prone, and he saw his window of opportunity still open, catching himself and raising his rod to strike. He had miscalculated how well his opponent would be able to fight from that position however, and Alloy nailed him across the chest with a powerful strike from his tail, while getting back onto its feet.

Though strong, tough, well-equipped, experienced and well-trained, Gilliam was still only human. The attack plowed into his chest, sending him flying into the air like a rag-doll.

"Augh!" He grunted, sent back a good 10 to 15 feet, tumbling violently along the snow-covered ground, and dropping his weapon in the process. He felt as if the attack had shattered his entire ribcage.

"Gilliam!" Diamond yelled. After an agonizingly long moment though, miraculously, the ranger began to shakily pick himself up off the ground.

"*cough* I'm… I'm alright." He lied, "Don't let your guard down, dammit!"

Diamond did not have time to be impressed with the man's resilience against an attack that surely would have knocked even her out cold in a single blow, as she found herself on her toes against the same frightening opponent, which swung at her left and right with its tail as it had with the ranger. Iron Tail—she could not afford to get hit by one of those, she knew.

Gracefully dancing around the blows, she showed off some impressive speed, frustrating the opponent with her agility. She could not find an opening at this range however.

"Don't stay close to it, use ranged attacks! See if you can slow down his movement with some of your ice moves!" Gilliam ordered her, tiredly plucking his final Riot Ball off of his belt. The RBR were only given 3 at any one time, and he had used one on Diamond, and the other just a moment ago, now cursing himself for not requesting more this week.

However, if she could just manage to freeze the Aggron in place, they'd be able to pull off a victory for sure. He couldn't afford to miss, however, so he _needed_ her help.

For a moment that thought froze in his mind, bringing him back to when he'd told her he didn't require her assistance only a few minutes ago. He shook this thought aside, however, focusing on the battle.

"Okay, I got it!" the Glaceon told him, flipping away from the attacks, and unleashing an ice beam, which hit its mark, but had very little effect at all.

Roaring, the Aggron charged at her again, only made more irate by her attack. Like before, she evaded its angry, blundering attacks, hopping away for distance before firing another ice beam, which hit like the one before it, but again did nearly nothing.

"Gilliam, it's not working!" She shouted in frustration.

The ranger was still catching the breath that was knocked out of him, though he'd managed to limp along enough to recover his Riot Rod. "Just keep it busy, don't stop trying! And don't let it get ahold of you with its attacks!"

She nodded, not even considering the thought that they were functioning not so differently from a trainer and their pokemon, continuing to follow his orders without question, as it just felt… natural.

However, Diamond, this time, put herself in a bad position, backed against the wall of the gym as she was dodging away from the large steel/rock type, leaving herself cornered.

Unable to do anything else, she unleashed her strongest blizzard in its face as it rounded upon her, causing it to wince and cover its eyes with an arm, but it was not blown away or slowed down as much as she'd hoped.

It lifted its tail to strike her, and this time it looked like she had no choice but to take the hit. She winced her eyes shut as she awaited the inevitable.

"Don't you _touch_ her!" Gilliam hollered, jumping onto the mega pokemon's back despite his injury, holding on with one hand while he wielded his special stun baton in the other.

Alloy bellowed defiantly, swinging this way and that to attempt to expel the man from his body, but it was useless, as the ranger's grip was tight, and the creature's arms were too bulky too reach back and grab him, though it tried.

"I'M. SICK. AND. TIRED. OF. PEOPLE. GIVING. KEY. STONES. TO. INEXPERIENCED. LITTLE. BRATS!" The man roared, punctuating each word with a swat of his Riot Rod against the Aggron's head, each and every attack enveloping it with a red electricity that emulated fighting type moves, such as the energy from an Aura Sphere or Focus Blast.

Though, due to the fact that he was also touching the pokemon, and the energy was still very similar to that of electricity, the pokemon's steel body conducted it, and just from looking at the way his clothes began to burn and tatter, and the condition of his hair, you could tell that each shock was also harming the ranger as well, but he did not stop until the Aggron finally hit the ground, its body reverting back into its original form.

Gilliam rolled off of it, to the side, dropping his now heavily damaged weapon onto the snow, and breathing heavily with his eyes closed.

Diamond was at his side immediately, assessing the damage, little droplets beginning to form in her eyes, as he had hurt himself extensively in order to protect her. "You IDIOT! Why didn't you just throw the ball like you were _going_ to!?" She demanded to know.

The ranger opened a single eye to look at her as he rested. "*huff*… Even… Ahem. Even if I had, the moment it takes for the ball to envelope the target in its stasis field… he'd have hit you."

She moved closer to him, frowning. "You don't _know_ that. He'd have probably turned around when he realized something had hit him."

"What, like the way he was 'flinching' against your ice beams? Nah, I don't think so, Diamond." Gilliam chuckled. "Besides, he sensed the first throw and moved out of the way. Mega pokemon have an innate ability to detect danger. That's why I wanted you to freeze him, if you could. As it was, the throw might have failed, and you'd have ended up getting hurt. I wasn't going to risk that."

The Glaceon squinted her eyes shut, infuriated with herself, and feeling utterly useless. "SHUT UP! _You're_ the one who ended up getting hurt, instead!"

"I'm fine, geez. I just kind of can't… move, at the moment." He laughed, before coughing up a small bit of blood, confirming internal damage. He licked at the red fluid, trying to remove it from sight so she wouldn't worry as much. "Just let me lay here for a few minutes. And don't let those kids go anywhere. I still need to have words with them."

The ice type felt like her heart was going to shatter seeing him in such a state, and she could not help but blame herself. She knew he was strong, but he was clearly pushing himself too hard. On the other hand, if she hadn't been here trying to help him, he might not have done something so crazy. He might have stayed down after the first hit. If he hadn't been trying to protect her, he wouldn't have hurt himself further, or he might have even been able to concentrate enough to manage to catch the thing in one of his Riot Balls.

Then again, he might have gotten hurt even worse had she not been there to distract it. She had no way of knowing. All she knew was that she didn't end up doing much to protect him, like she wanted. It ended up being the other way around…. _Again_.

Did _he_ always have to be the one to save _her_?

Thinking to take advantage of Diamond's distraction, Randal took the opportunity to quietly take the lock off of his bike, which he had chained to one of the Snowbelle Gym's bike racks. The ice type-however, ear-twitched at the sudden sound, temporarily leaving the ranger's side to menace the boy, her look dark and dreadfully serious enough to nearly make the boy wet his pants.

"Oh _no_ you don't, **brat**. You think you can just come here and cause all this mess, then walk away without so much as a slap on the wrist?!" She growled, mouth glowing with the power of frigidity to emphasize her point.

"Wha-hey, hey! What are you-!?" The boy stuttered, flinching away from his bicycle, which was promptly frozen solid to the rack, courtesy of a very angry ice-beam. He wasn't going anywhere with that thing. And he'd never out-run the Glaceon on foot. This ensured he had no choice but to face his punishment.

"HEY! I'm not even the one who did all of the damage! It's that stupid girl's pokemon that ended up going nuts!" The immature child whined, shifting the blame, pointing to the girl, who was currently on her knees in the snow, too shaken by a near-death experience at the hands of her own mistake in judgment to try and run off, or really react to much of anything.

The frosty quadruped scowled at the boy. What a selfish little spoiled _runt_ , she thought. Having lived with Gilliam and his brother for a while, she had almost forgotten that humanity was a two-sided coin… and how much she hated _this_ side of it. "You might be able to fool a human, but you can't fool a pokemon like me. Some of the damages to these buildings were caused by an earthquake attack, and when I was fighting that Aggron there's no _way_ it wouldn't have used that move when I was dodging around the way I was if it knew it, especially while it was mindlessly raging like that. So that means it had to have been _your_ pokemon—and no pokemon in their right _mind_ would start an earthquake in a town where the slightest little tremor can cause an _avalanche_ that might envelope everything in sight, so it must have been an order given to it by a _snot-nosed_ little **brat** —the kind who's _stupid_ enough to break the law and think he can get away with it just because he's a child." She accused, making the boy sweat. He had the look of somebody who _knew_ they were in big trouble, and that there was no more lying or throwing the blame to be done that could get them out of it. "You're _lucky_ recent events have seen that the mountains near here aren't quite snowy enough for another avalanche to be shaken down, otherwise you'd have ended up doing something you'd regret for the rest of your **life**. If you even _LIVED_." She elucidated him, feeling slightly hypocritical in lecturing the boy for almost accidentally doing something she herself did _intentionally_ on three separate occasions.

While Diamond was dealing with the boy, Gilliam made a painful effort to fish his cell phone out of his jacket, unfortunately, as he did, he regretted keeping it in the front pocket, as it was completely smashed to pieces by the impact from the Mega Aggron's tail.

He dropped it to the ground, just laying flat on his back, seeing as it was useless now anyway. He found it ironic that both RB Rangers in this town totalled their phones on the same day—he had intended to call Mace's house phone in hopes that he would be there, and if that didn't work, he was going to call Edward to ask him to go and fetch the man. Now he'd have to think of something else. "Diamond, come here for a second, please?" He choked out.

The Glaceon was at his side within a trice, however still keeping an eye on the two trainers and the incapacitated Aggron. "Gill… I'm sorry I wasn't of any help." She randomly apologized. She didn't know what else to say to him, simply seeing him in such a state was tearing her nerves to pieces.

The ranger waved his hand as if that wasn't the prevalent issue at the moment. "Don't be stupid. If I hadn't brought you with me, that Aggron would have probably killed me. Just between you and me, I've only ever had to deal with a mega-evolved pokemon once before, and that time I had the assistance of 4 other trained RB rangers, two of which were injured way worse than I am. If you hadn't been here to distract it, everything would have been a lot worse. Besides, I need your help again… like, literally, right _now_."

Her eyes lighting up a bit, the guilt she felt at what had transpired was temporarily overshadowed by the warmth that came with hearing him say that he needed her. She glanced at his destroyed cell, before looking again at his strained expression. "Do you need me to go and fetch four-eyes? Is he even strong enough to carry you to the treatment center?" She asked, putting his wellbeing before any kind of punishment that would be doled out to the offending party.

He smiled at her. "Good, I'm glad you're the kind of person who's still smart even when they're upset. But I told you I'd be fine, I don't need to go to the hospital just yet. Right now somebody needs to handle these kids, and decide what's going to be done with them, and their pokemon. Normally I'd just take them back down to my basement, where I kept you for a while, and use my equipment to fax a report, then ask them to wait while my superiors came up with a suitable punishment—or, if there was no mega-evolution involved, I'd have just wrote them up and given them a warning. But after all that I'm feeling kind of biased, so I think it would be better for the two of them if Mace did it instead. He's got access to all the same things I do at his own home, with the exception of the containment cell. So, yeah, do you think you could go find him for me?"

The ice-type pulled a very distraught face. "I'm not going _anywhere_ until you promise you'll go and get looked at the _moment_ I bring him here." She insisted, stomping the snow with a paw.

"Fine, fine, if that's the way you want to play it, I'll go as soon as I know he's got the situation under control. Do you know where he lives?" Gilliam asked her.

"I can track him easily enough. He smells kind of odd, and X leaves very obvious prints wherever he walks." She informed him, already sniffing the air.

"Yeah, Mace does wear a kind of odd brand of cologne." The man laughed, though he ended up coughing instead.

Diamond, who was about to take off, instead turned around and nuzzled his face worryingly, as if it would make him any better. It was clearly not a gesture she considered to be out-of-place, though Gill found it to be a bit embarrassing, as much as he probably would have enjoyed it under normal circumstances. "What about these trainers? Won't they run off?" She asked him.

The ranger gently nudged her face away from him with a gloved hand, if only to keep her face away from his as he coughed again a few times, clearing his throat, and suddenly sitting up. "Sssst. No, it's fine. I'll make sure they don't go anywhere. Just go get him, please."

She blinked a few times in disbelief, almost flinching at the way he hissed as he picked himself up off the ground, and shakily stood up once more, his face contorted in pain as he held his chest. "Wh-…I thought you said you couldn't move!"

He coughed a few more times, but his expression relaxed just a bit as he steadied himself, ignoring the pain in his chest. "Ahem. Well, that was just ranger code for 'give me a minute, I think I punctured a lung'." He laughed, though doing so without coughing was impossible.

She favored him with a half-worried, half-infuriated look. "That's _not_ funny. You're coughing up blood. I don't want to leave you like this…." She trailed.

He looked at her jokingly, thinking that she might calm down if he made light of his injuries. "Well yeah, cracked ribs, punctured organs from that, and I probably shocked myself so bad that I'm going to have to change underwear when I get home, but what are you going to do by staying here? You planning to _kiss_ it and make it _better_?"

She blushed at this comment, despite the situation. "I'll allow the fact that you're in excruciating pain right now to deter my sudden urge to _hit_ you."

"Just go, Diamond, I'm alright. It's nothing life-threatening." He reassured her.

She turned to leave, but looked at him one last time. "And the kids? You're in no condition to chase them down if they make a run for it." She reminded him.

Gilliam made sure to say the next part out loud enough for the two nearby trainers to hear him loud and clear. "Oh, don't worry about that. I have access to a copy of every trainer card in the entire region, so I can easily pull them up on file, and report their violation of the Trainer-Town Preservation Pact, as well as the fact that they evaded arrest on those grounds, to every single police station in the Kalos region—if they try to run they'd have their trainer cards, and all their pokemon taken away from them, as well as being suspended from reinstatement of those things for as many as 10 years."

Hearing this said, the young boy and girl looked at each other nervously, before slowly walking over to the ranger, and standing anxiously next to him, much like children who are made to wait outside of the principal's office.

"We'll… we'll cooperate, Mr. Ranger, please, just go easy on us." Randall mumbled.

"Yeah, w-we'll be good." The girl added.

At this, Gilliam sternly nodded, then looked to Diamond.

She nodded as well, and took off at a rather quick pace, intent on finding the other RB Ranger so she could get Gilliam's wounds treated as soon as possible.

* End Chapter 7 *


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Do not own pokemon, of course. If you're not fond of pokephilia, people attracted to pokemon, or anything of the sort, please stop here and get out because I don't need to accumulate hate just because it's something I like reading and writing about. In this story pokephilia is not illegal and a fairly common practice, as pokemon have evolved to the point that they all speak English, eliminating the speech barrier—and realistically, that barrier is the only thing keeping it from being just as common as interracial or gay relationships, considering they're cute, intelligent, and sentient.

Chapter 8 "Brave, Not Invincible"

It did not take Diamond more than a few minutes to figure out which house in Snowbelle belonged to Mace, as the RBR insignia was plain as day on his mailbox, and the wrecked snow-mobile tipped over in front of his abode was sort of a dead give-away.

Poking around for a way inside, she noticed his house was not damaged and boarded up like some of the others from the recent avalanches. Minor setback, she thought, hopping up onto the stump of a recently cut tree, so that she gain access to one of his windows. Focusing her ice beam into a cutting laser, she carefully slit out a shape in the fogged glass big enough for her to get through, before shifting the piece she'd removed out into the snow, where she buried it promptly and efficiently, then hopping into his house with grace and silence. She didn't have the time or patience for knocking or being polite.

The Xatu was met with well-kept claws at his neck upon his awakening, which immediately caused him to squawk, his psychic powers of knowing what may come to pass rendered useless while he was asleep.

"Diamond WHAT THE FUUUUCK!?" he practically croaks, as she menaces him with her pointy digits.

"Wake Mace up RIGHT NOW, and teleport us next to the gym as soon as he gets here, or I'll turn you into a popsicle again!" She snarls at him. "You lazy bastards were over here _sleeping_ while Gilliam was working his ass off trying to pacify a god damned **Mega-Aggron**!"

Mace opens the closet door where X sleeps drowsily, not even having put on his glasses, but his vision wasn't so bad that it would play these kind of tricks on him.

"What about a mega… DIAMOND!? What the fuck!" He stammers, flinching backwards as he finds his feathered friend streaming anime tears as he squirms to get out of her clutches, but she has his wings pinned.

"That's what **I** _said!"_ clapped a chattering beak.

"Alright, everybody calm down!" Mace forces, picking his glasses up off of the night stand where he usually sets them to go to sleep, and repositioning them on his face to get a better look at Diamond's expression. "Slowly now, tell us what happened and we'll do the best we can to help."

The ice type softened her expression, seeing at least this human was now taking things seriously. Removing her pinning paws from X's wings, she begins to groom herself moodily, almost stressing out with every wipe of the paw. "I'll start with the fact that Gilliam's laying out there in the snow, half dead with who knows how many broken ribs. Blood from the mouth is indicative of internal damage, if I'm not mistaken-n an-and and I couldn't do anything at all to help him, but he got hurt trying to save _me_." She quivers, beginning to get emotional.

Mace didn't know it before but he was spot-on when he teased the two of them having chemistry. The way her eyes wavered with sorrow as she told him those things immediately informed him that the two of them must have an even deeper connection than he'd first thought. In light of this, he puts his coat and gloves on, and then some snowshoes, quickly and accurately, without a word until he's ready.

"It's alright, Diamond. I believe you. That sounds _exactly_ like something Gilliam would do. X, take us there right _now_."

Diamond wasn't the only stealthy pokemon in town though. Even if ice was the opposite of her element, Branch made a living off of being sneaky. A bright, fluffy yellow ear twitched, hearing everything that took place within, and with a woman's intuition thereby knowing where her sempai was about to go.

"Oh no, oh no, I hope Gilliam didn't get hurt too badly! Mace would be a _mess_ without him picking up all the slack!" she whines, chewing anxiously on her stick. "I should go and help too!"

She gave it no thought as to _how_ she might actually do that, just pure sweetness skipping through the snow on some well-endowed and powerfully thick black legs, her orange tasslefur blowing dramatically on her way to the Snowbelle city gym. But it wasn't quite fast enough. "I gotta kick it into high gear!" She claims, sitting on her stick like a witch riding a broom, and fox-fire promptly explodes from the back of the properly sized piece of wood, with spirals of pink incantation ribbons accompanied, propelling her onward to help the Riot Ball Rangers. "Kyu-kyu- **KYUUU!** " She lets out her battlecry. She's the magical girl Branch, and she was riding to the rescue!

Back and forth, back and forth, steady as she goes, melting a trail right along through the snow where she's hovering, she barely bobs and weaves around several people who complain about how they nearly lost their hats.

"Sorry, sorry!" She calls back, looking around enough to lose her balance, causing her to loop around her stick, before landing upright again, scooping up a head full of snow in the process. "Who turned out the lights?" She blows cutely, a little flamethrower breath ridding her of the nuisance immediately. "That's better!"

It isn't long before she rides along the gym scene, and she's just in time to catch Wulfric rolling up on the scene, carrying a armful of Watmel berry-melons. She skids around him in a full circle, causing the stick to fish-tail, little flowers blooming in the grass where she melted the snow. She hops off with a flourish, twirling the stick and stuffing it into her tail with practiced finesse. "Wulf!" She yips at him sharply.

The walrus of a man regards her with a kind bow, his big gray mustache flapping as he speaks. "Well hello there, Branch. You gonna bring us some sunshine today?" He chuckles. This irritated her. Clearly he had no idea what was going on.

She responds by promptly kicking him in the shin. "You big tub of lard! You were playing at the pokemon village and Gilliam got hurt by an unsanctioned trainer battle outside of _your_ Gym because they didn't wanna wait for you to come back! I'll deal with _you_ **later**!" She barks, skipping towards the Gym to leave the leader nursing his leg and sputtering uncoordinated apologies as he hurried behind her, but not quite able to keep up. Currently living in the pokemon village herself, Branch was very familiar with Wulfric. Sometimes he would ask her to come and use Sunny Day when the weather was bad, to thaw out the icier parts of the gym a little bit and keep everything up and running, as sometimes the frigidity caused power-outs, and she would always gladly oblige, and he brought her treats in return, which she always adored. But his goofing around with the pokemon _this_ time may very well have caused a close friend of her master to be hurt, so she was mad at him. As mad as one could be at a big loveable oaf with a kinship for pokemon, anyway.

Seeing the crowd she expected as she trodded closer and closer, the braixen frowned. There were two kids, both highly upset, a large Nidoking that appeared to be severely injured lying motionless, and said Aggron seeming dented and beaten. Nearby she spied the green head of X, who had beaten her there easily via teleportation, bringing Diamond and Mace along with him.

The injured RBR made a motion to get everybody to stop fussing over him so much as he had managed to pull himself up to a sitting position against the front wall of the gym building. His coat was a bit tattered and you could tell from the rips in his undershirt that he received a nasty blow to the chest, though the only other indication of his injuries was the harsh sound of his voice and the bits of blood that dribbled from his mouth each time he coughed to clear his throat. "Relax, relax, I don't need anybody to bring a stretcher, I can just walk there if you 'd give me a little bit of room to catch my breath."

Diamond was having absolutely none of it. "Will you stop trying to be a _badass_ for **five** seconds and please try not to hurt yourself anymore than you already _have_!? Can't the bird just teleport you to the treatment center?" She spat at him, trying very hard not to beat the crap out of him in lieu of knowing it had already happened.

Adjusting his glasses, Mace did his best to keep the tension of the situation as calm as possible with his tone and advice. "To answer your question, Diamond, teleporting him in this condition might cause his body too much stress, you ought to know that since you know how much pressure it puts on you for the jump considering we just did it. But she's right too, Gill, stop trying to be a legendary ranger for a day and just let us bring something to carry you on, a wheelchair at least."

"Why don't you just put him in a Riot Ball and carry him there that way, Master?" Branch chimed in cutely, causing all four of them to jump.

"B-b-Branch? How long have you been standing there!?" Mace practically choked out, nearly losing his balance in surprise as his classes slip down his face in a crooked manner. "And how do you even know Riot Balls also work on humans?" He added, scratching his head.

She tittered jubilantly. "Silly Sempai, I know _everything_ about the RBR. It's called the internet."

X's head turned around a full 360 degrees, looking at her upside-down. "You have internet!? No fair, Mace won't even let me have Netflix!"

Diamond hopped upward and bapped the bird in the head with her paw, straightening it. "Stop moving your neck like that, it creeps me out!" She stated, not also mentioning the only real reason she did it was due to the fact that she wanted to hit somebody at that moment in time.

"Squaww!" the psychic/flying type crowed comically in protest, flapping his wings and scattering feathers.

Gilliam couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "What kind of device could you possibly have with access to the internet, Branch? Haha! Acka… agh.." he croaked out, a bit of blood dribbling down his beard.

Seeing his injury, the braixen moved a bit closer, nudging Mace out of the way as she kneels down, pulling something out of the fluff of her tail. "My phone, of course, officer McAllister."

Indeed, she produced what was possibly the trendiest, tweeniest, and most highly decorated smartphone anyone had probably ever seen, complete with a magical girl themed pink phone case, with ribbons and tassles and little bells. Her cellphone background was a picture of her and Mace that appeared to be heavily photoshopped.

Mace took one look at the image and faceplanted in the snow. "I don't recall ever doing that! How do you even have access to Adobe Suite!?"

Gilliam laughed uproariously at this point enough to start choking up some actual sputters of blood, causing Diamond, Mace, and Branch to all hover over him worryingly. "Gah, stop stop, I'm okay, just try not to make me laugh so… ~snk~ ha, so much." That said, they all gravitated back a bit, with the exception of Diamond, who wanted to stay just a tiny bit closer. The lion-maned ranger trained his eyes on Branch, "And if you know that much about Riot Balls you should know that that would also knock me out. I wouldn't mind of course, but they're also one-time-only balls, and break once you release what they've captured. We're not really allowed to just use them willy-nilly like that, they're only for absolute emergencies."

The glaceon placed a tensed paw on his thigh. "I'd say you coughing up all of your fluids is an _emergency_ , Gill…" She quietly whimpered. The man's cheeks flushed at her concern for him, and the way she shortened his name with such familiarity, and for a second they shared some pretty intense eye-contact.

Branch's ears twitched, her _kawaii_ senses going off. The look in the ice-type's eyes as she fawned over the man, she recognized that all-too- **well**. For a long moment she swooned as she realized what a cute couple the two of them would make. The girlishness in her told her to keep it to herself for now, though, but the tingling of the butterflies that fluffy moment brought about tempted her to play matchmaker later if she could. Gilliam needed a good partner, and a good mate even more, having been a loner for so long.

But what could they do about his situation. Surely there was something she could do with her magic. "I'll go get a wheelchair! I know the Joy at the center, so it's no problem. Back in a flash!" She promises, whipping out her stick and broom-riding it away without even looking for any kind of response. She was bubbly like that.

"B-Branch wait!" Mace said, his glasses sliding down his face. He forgot to ask her how she knew about the situation so well, but he groans, assuming she was just playing the part of stalker like she usually does. "She's already gone. That girl, I swear."

Gilliam had a shit-eating grin, ready to tease Mace back for all the times he made embarrassing comments about him and Diamond, "She's a keeper, man. I can't even figure out how she does some of the magic she does, they don't even seem to fall into any move category. You really should let her move in with you."

Mace blushed profusely, adjusting his glasses shakily. "Absolutely not, I don't even know how old she is."

"Old _enough._ " Diamond added, having smelled that the fire-type was sexually active and had been for at least a few seasons.

"You might as well considering she forged your signature and caught herself in a pokeball she registered to you." X added, before getting his beak flicked. "Ow!"

Mace didn't want him to spout that out in front of Gilliam. "You featherbrained-ninny! Don't tell them that!"

Even Diamond laughed at that. "Is she really _that_ smitten with him?" She asked.

Gilliam was quick to confirm. "You have _no_ idea."

During all of this, Edward went about his day-to-day like one would expect, cleaning up from breakfast and doing the dishes, before going to his room and sitting at his computer chair. The parts for this rig had all been custom ordered to his liking, focused on performance and durability. Clicking here and there with his mouse, he leaned back as he started going through his emails.

Melody being the only other living thing in the McAllister residence, the eevee followed the boy without a sound, and when he sat down she jumped up into his lap.

Thoughtlessly he used his free hand to pet her affectionately as he began the daily annoyance of deleting tons of spam emails that inevitably came with having an email address in this day and age.

Little did he know his house was being cased.

"Now's the time. I'm going in to get him." A unique creature states, flipping a brown and pink-fluffed ear out of her face. Atop her head was a black cap adorned with a red R. A lopunny, but not just any lopunny, she was a _mega_ lopunny. How this was possible one could only guess at, however she was in charge of the pokemon interbreeding division.

"You better hurry before they come back then." A murkrow squawked.

"They left the front door unlocked. Just wait." She said as she hops up the stairs bouncily to their porch, before turning the knob on their front door and pushing it inward, proving they did, in fact leave it unlocked. Slipping in, she admired their house for a moment, before quickly catching the scent of the boy. It was an interesting smell.

Following it, she went right into Edward's room, as the door was open. Melody was the first one to notice, hopping out of his lap and desperately padding at his ankles, though it seemed like the boy was spaced out, focused on deleting all the annoying spam without getting rid of anything he might have been expecting.

Ed's heart would dip as he spies movement behind his head via the reflection of his screen.

Spinning around, he nearly jumps out of his seat. "Holy crap! You almost gave me a coronary! Who are you and please get out of my house?"

Edward didn't know the direness of his situation however. Spying the hat with the red R, he suddenly realized exactly what was going on, and stood up, but she moved like lightning, in front of him and gently pushing him back into the seat.

Melody was hiding in the corner, too terrified to do anything.

"W-w-w-wait, you're… you're the kidnapper, aren't you? " He gulped, mind fluttering for ways to get help. He knew there was no way he could overpower a mega-pokemon, and outrunning her would be an absolute impossibility.

"That's correct Eddy. See, you _are_ smart aren't you?" she admitted. "It'll be a whole lot easier if you don't resist." She purred, encroaching on him.

"P-please don't steal me, why are you even doing this?" He spattered, a pleasant aroma hitting him way too hard as she became closer. Unlike normal lopunny she had breasts, which were tremendous. In fact she was larger than most lopunny too, even taller than Ed himself.

She however could not comply with this. "Are you blushing? Isn't that sweet, your puberty is still fresh. I'm a rabbit, so I can tell." As she says this she works her way onto his computer chair, sitting on his lap, tightly clamping her powerful legs around his and slowly putting him in a position where his face was mashed in between her big, furry boobs, restricted only by a skintight band-top in black.

"Whaaaa, what is this feeling!" He mumbles through her cleavage, looking up at her with big blue eyes.

Grinning at him, she suddenly chops him sharply at a pressure point on the shoulder, knocking him out. "It's the feeling of growing up into a man, sweety." She chuckles in her kalosian accent.

Quickly cradling him like a baby, the only thing that tries to stop her as she walks towards the exit of his room is a quivering little Eevee.

She looked down at her. "Aww, you wanted him, didn't you. Too bad, honeybunch, I need him more than you do. Points for bravery though." She tells Melody who has tears in her eyes, and she casually steps over her, then running at a hop hopping pace, shutting the door to the house, and taking off at astonishing speeds into the snowy woods.

…And just like that, Edward was taken.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Do not own pokemon, of course. If you're not fond of pokephilia, people attracted to pokemon, or anything of the sort, please stop here and get out because I don't need to accumulate hate just because it's something I like reading and writing about. In this story pokephilia is not illegal and a fairly common practice, as pokemon have evolved to the point that they all speak English, eliminating the speech barrier—and realistically, that barrier is the only thing keeping it from being just as common as interracial or gay relationships, considering they're cute, intelligent, and sentient.

 **Chapter 9: "Melting the Ice!"**

Diamond was pissed off. Walking back and forth, she felt she had been completely mistreated by the workers at the healing center. Removed for being too _clingy_ , too _protective_ , were those even **qualified** **reasons**!? She just wanted to make sure Gilliam got the best treatment they could possibly give him. She made such a fuss about it that they even had the _nerve_ to ask her to step outside of the building because she was upsetting the patients! **Boy** did it make her **mad!**

Having nowhere to put all of her energy, she screamed, launching an angry Ice Beam into the sky, and the usual precision of it was off in her fury, the beam fluctuating here and there. It rose up into the atmosphere, cleaving a humid cloud in twain, causing a sudden downpour of freezing rain moments later. Great. Now she was not only pissed off, but pissed off and _wet_.

"You really do _**love**_ him, don't you?" came a familiar voice.

Ear twitching, the ice type felt heat rush to her cheeks—the kind of heat that can only come about when someone figured out something about a secret that was absolutely true. "W-well of course I-I … I mean. Who? Where are-… how did you sneak up on me like that, fire-type?" she stammered, spying the braixen from before.

Branch giggled, holding an umbrella, which she apparently stole out of the center's lobby. "You're not the only one who likes to sneak up on people and watch what they do when they think no one's around, Diamond."

Growing more skeptical in the face of a type she was weak against, the glaceon did not opt to be overly aggressive even though she was boiling with rage. "F…F-fair enough. But… how did _**you**_ know how I… _feel_ about Gilliam, miss…?" She trailed, unable to, in her present state of stress, remember what she was called.

" _Branch_ , my name's Branch. And it's because of the way that you _look_ at him. Because of the way you get _mad_ that they won't let you stay in there with him, the _frustration_ , that **blush** that went across your face just now when I mentioned that you have _feelings_ for him. All of that can't escape the eye of a pokemon who's in love with a Riot Ball Ranger _herself_ , now can it?" She explained, gently, sitting on a bench outside of the treatment center, and patting the spot next to her.

Diamond hopped up, and they shared the umbrella and a bit of conversation as the freezing rain continued to come down. "I suppose not. So… you're after that Mace guy, huh? "

The braixen twirled the parasol in response. "Not after, he's my _master_. I already caught myself in this pokeball and forged his signature for the trainer registration, so it's **official**." She bragged, showing her the pokeball and the registration card both.

The glaceon couldn't help but cheer up at that, grinning, if only a little. "Wow, that's some _dedicated_ stalking there, home-girl."

Branch tittered in response. "Teehee, yeah! If you want something you have to get IN there and GRAB it! There's no possibility of failure if I make it so he doesn't have a _choice_!"

For a long moment the two of them just giggled together as the rain came down at a steady pace, pattering against the umbrella. After they had their little laughs out of the way, there was a silence, but a more positive one.

"Does he _know_ how you feel about him?" Branch suddenly asked.

Diamond didn't answer immediately, instead truly thinking about it. _Did_ he know? She had done a few things that made it so obvious to other people how she felt, but it wouldn't surprise her if Gilliam had something plain as day like that right in front of his face that he still wouldn't be able to see. Knowing him he probably thought she hated humans too much to have any kind of feelings like that for him. "I… probably not. He doesn't _act_ like he knows, at least." She admitted.

Suddenly she felt a paw preening at the glacial crest of fur on her forehead, the fur that resembled a crown of ice and possibly one of her most beautiful features. "Wh-what are you _doing_!" She yipped at the fire-type.

"I'm fixing your hair. You got it all frizzled out because you were in such a huff about not being able to stay in there with your _husbando_. Because you're gonna march _in_ there and tell him that you're in _love_ with him like right **now**. " She said, actually showing quite a bit of expertise with fur-grooming, as hers was lovely in it's own way, shiny and bouncy, plush and soft. When she was done Diamond's ice crown sparkled like it was made of pure sapphire.

This however didn't do the ice type any favors in terms of courage. "Wh-wait, what, r-r-right n- _now_?!" she sputtered, eyes glazing and paws nervously fidgeting already, a tremendously obvious but fetching blush streaking across her pretty face.

The magical girl nodded. "If you want to _be_ with him, you have no time to _waste_. What if someone else comes along, and he falls for _them_ instead? You **can't** wait! The time is **now** , while your feelings are _fresh_ and **powerful**! You go in there and you **dominate** that man with your _love_ , mark him, make him _yours_ and only yours now and forever!"

The thought of marking Gilliam made Diamond wet. But it was also embarrassing. When Branch said the thing about someone else coming along, she immediately thought of the horrors of that dream she had. She couldn't let something like that happen, Branch was right! She needed to claim him for herself now before it was too late. "But how? How do I go about it, I can't just walk up in there and _kiss_ him!" she whined.

"Why _not_? What's he going to do, say _no_? He rescued you from _execution_ , showed you the wrong of your ways, and even _offered_ you a chance to make _amends_. Why would somebody **do** something like that I wonder? Has he ever _complimented_ you? I bet he's said you were _beautiful_ at least once or twice. Why does he keep _saving_ you, even from that mega Aggron this morning, laid up in the hospital, all for you? Are you _blind_ , girl? He does it because he fucking _**loves**_ you!"

And just like that, Diamond's heart was set on fire, melting her cold exterior. She jumped down with confidence, as the rain finally started to subside. There was only one thing she had to do before she went in. "…How did you?"

" _Know_ all of that? **Stalker** , remember? You said it yourself. Plus, I might have talked to Edward about it a couple of times while I was chasing my sempai. But that has nothing to _do_ with **this**. Just _go_ in there and claim your **prize** , girlfriend!" Branch cheered, cutting her off.

"Branch, _thank_ you!" the glaceon sincerely called out as she stepped in front of the door to the treatment center, which opened automatically. In the heat of the moment, Diamond felt _invincible_. Absolutely _nothing_ would stop her from claiming her life-mate right here and now!

Those hospital beds really did suck. Frigid and torn up, he lays there wondering when they're going to let Diamond back in. Fidgeting with the little call button, he summoned a nurse.

"A little help here!" He shouted in irritation, though his wounds were already treated, and the internal bits taken out. He had a total of three broken ribs, one of which poked a lung like shrapnel. It was a terrible injury, yes, but nothing permanent. And even still, there was only _one_ thing on his mind. "Will you people please, _**please**_ let Diamond back in?" He grunted, but he was met with a silence.

…But just when he thought he was going to sit there alone for the rest of the day, there was… a sudden skittering.

… And then, a miracle. Before he knew it, the glaceon in question jumped up onto his bed, a fire in her eyes. Though she was an ice type, she approached him looking like an entirely different pokemon.

Words could not adequately describe the way the ranger's face lit up. "Diamond… Y… You're _here_!" He practically _gushed_ at her.

What happened next, though… he could not have _ever_ expected, but never once would he ever complain about it.

"Shut up." She told him, simply, and without any hesitation whatsoever, she padded up, leaned forth, and firmly pressed her maw against his lips.

A kiss…!

A kiss of _ice_. How could a kiss of _ice_ be so very **hot**? So many questions were fluttering in Gilliam's mind as he closed his eyes and pressed deep into the kiss himself. And this was not just a smooch, this was a **romantic** kiss, this was a _statement_. The Ranger found himself licking at her maw, wanting entry to her muzzle with his tongue. She did not deny entry, rather happily opening her mouth, as their tongues began to dance together. She tasted like spearmint, and he tasted like hazelnut. Gilliam's hands would slide down her body, only to come rest on her well-endowed rump, which he gives a firm squeeze, making her moan into the now very sloppy kiss, as they both positively refuse to let go of one another's face, stopping only for a short breath before resuming again. This was **it** … this was how they felt about one another, no more _hiding_. Just pure and honest kissing; no words were _needed_. Everything they wanted so desperately to tell each other was translated into the _sparking_ pleasure that began to fill the room.

A light flicked on, and one of the nurse Joy dropped her tray at what she was witnessing, sending a small desert dish splattering across the tiles of the hospital floor.

"O-o-oh my goodness! S- _sorry_!" She stammered, toddling right out the door and turning the light back off to give them privacy… Little did they know, she poked her head back in for one more look, which made her blush deeply, and _smile_ , before leaving the room entirely.

Everybody in town knew Gilliam needed a partner, but to see him take one in the form of a pokemon and a lover _both_ , was something that anyone that knew him would say full-well that he _needed_.

Gilliam and Diamond, however, did not stop, did not care; didn't even _notice_. They were in their own little world, a world where _they_ were the only things in existence.

Diamond peels off of him finally with a gasp, their tongues trailing a string of warm and passionate saliva. " _mmfffaaa_ … Gill, you're so _HARD_!" She coos, realizing he is grinding a very big tent up into her backside, which he has been squeezing this entire time with reckless abandon.

"I-I can't **help** it, you're just so unbelievably _beautiful_!" He admits, blushing profusely "I've been trying to hide these erections from you since the moment we _met_! And now all I have is this stupid… hospital gown between…" He trails, grinding up into her even harder through the gown, "My _pent_ -up and _needy_ -as hell manhood and your big, fat, _delicious_ , **juicy** fucking ass!" He howls, kind of losing his manners in his arousal. This however, turned **her** on even _more_.

"Mnnnnahhhhh, Gill, I **love** it when you talk _dirty_ to me! Haaaa..! Y-your _hands_ … your **fingers** … are so _**powerful**_! They're sinking so deep into my **flank**! MMMMMMMM!" she moans, pushing into his grinding eagerly. "Put that throbbing _monster_ inside of me **right** now!"

Gilliam did not need to be told twice, yanking out every tube and needle connected to him, clearing the hospital gown and throwing it to the side. Slowly but surely he positioned himself, his throbbing cock tickling the entrance to her honey-box.

" **No**!" She snarled. "Fuck me in the _**ass**_!"

Gilliam's erection twitched, as he did a double-take at what she just said she wanted. "H-…Holy shit, are you _serious_! Why!" He huffed.

" _Dammit_ , Gill! Now's not the time to _question_ me! ….Because that's where I _**like**_ it, Okay?!" She mewled, positioning herself to sit on his erection, hoping to be skewered by his big human maleness. He looked at her and she was blushing profusely. It wasn't a chastity thing, she was telling the _truth._

"Good _lord_ , that's _so_ fucking… _**hot**_!" He tells her as he sits her tailbase up against the head of his pulsating dick, which dribbled small amounts of precum already in it's eagerness for what was about to happen. Finding that wonderful pucker, he let gravity begin to slide him in, slowly but surely. He is circumcised, but the head of it finally popped in, after a long and drawn out moment of intense pushing. " _Ohhfff, Arceuuuus,_ Diamond you feel so _gooooood_ , it's like I'm pressing up into a ring of cold **silk**!"

The glaceon was beginning to lose it already, spiraling into a state of horny dirty talk as she begged him to give her everything he had, "More! _More_! Stuff that big, beefy human cock all the **way** _up_ my pokemon _butt_! Hilt me! _Hilt_ me Gill, hilt me like I'm the naughty _bitch_ you know I _**am**_! I want every _inch_ of you!" She pleaded, and all of this made sliding his throbbing manhood alllllll the way up her hindquarters all that much _easier_.

"F- **FUCK** , Diamond! If you don't stop _talking_ to me like that I'm gonna cum right up your ass before I even get the chance to _hump_ you!" He barked, his throbbing cock finally hilting her all the way. "Mew's **taaaaiiiiiil** , you feel sooooooooo _**goooooood**_!" He _moaned_ , in a state of absolute and utter _ecstasy_ already.

For a long time they stayed like that, finally connected to one another fully like they'd both desired for such a frustrating amount of time now. As they sat there catching their breath, they suddenly found themselves captivated with one another's eyes, and at that moment, they both said:

"I had a dream!" at the exact same time.

Diamond's eyes were positively encapsulating as she finally felt her big, strong man filling her up in all of the ways she had been dying for these past couple of weeks. "MMmnnnnnnn _Giiiiiiill_ , wha…what was _yours_ about?"

"It was a _**wet**_ dream about _you,_ dammit! You and your sexy, _**thick**_ butt! It took me _hours_ to calm that boner **down**!" He explained. This made her _hot_. So hot, he was _melting_ her.

"That's not _fair_! I had a _nightmare_ that you married some _human_ woman!" she cried, his thick shaft penetrating her very _sensitive_ rear end in all the right ways. As embarrassed as she was to admit it to him during their first time, she'd always _liked_ putting things in there, as for whatever reason the _naughtiness_ of the whole thing made her cum much, much faster than she would the normal way.

"Aahhh, Victini's _**wings**_! Is _that_ why you were so _upset_ this morning?" He asked her, beginning to spew enough pre that he's able to work himself into a bit of a hump, which he does-so, vigorously and with a steady rhythm.

"Yes, yeeees, for the love of _Arceus_ , _**YEES**_!"

"Right _there_!?"

"Keep doing that, _PLEASE_!" she _begged_.

Pumping her right up her well endowed rear, Gilliam finally let out all that sexual frustration he had been building up all this time, ever since Diamond came into his life, he fantasized about doing exactly this, and it felt **300** times better than he could have _ever_ possibly _imagined_. "Oh fuck, oh _fuck_! **Diamond** ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhf _FFFFFUUUUCK_!"

Little did he know Diamond was already hitting it at maximum capacity, just unable to take the pure _size_ and _girth_ of him right where she loved taking it the _most_ , " _Gilliaaaaammmmmmm_ AAHHHHHHHHFFFFF! You're making me **cuuuuum**!" she positively _**squealed**_ _!_

As she stated this he felt an icy jet of coolant squirt onto his groin. He couldn't believe it, did he really just make her squirt like that, and _that_ fast!? She liked it there _**that**_ much!?

This sent him into _overdrive_ , and he dug his grip into her voluptuous, juicy pokemon butt once more, pulling down as he humped up into her _ravenously_ , this time also claiming her mouth as his own, and driving his tongue down deep into her maw, giving her a lavishing kiss as best he could! This was it; he was going to _melt_ this ice queen _right_ here and **now** by shooting a **volcano** right up her hot, sexy _ass_!

They both almost _screamed_ into one another's mouths as they positively _slobbered_ all over one another's faces, trying so hard to maintain a nasty, sloppy, but _passionate_ kiss with all the motion, but as Gilliam's hot ranger seed erupted up the ice-type's hind quarters in huge amounts, he simply could not stop himself from humping every single _bit_ of it up into her.

 **~Stfft. Sppppffft. Spppprfffffffffff…! PFFFTTTTFFFBBBBTT~**

Still humping with what power they have left, they begin to wind down as the excess pounding had squelched out all of the thick white jizz that could not be contained within Diamond's rectum, spewing out all over the bed and Gilliam's lap, as his pace finally stops, and he trails his face from hers so he can lean back against the bed and lay down, his tongue falling out of his mouth like a thirsty dog as he gasps for breath, staring at her with eyes that were still glazed over with absolute and utter _euphoria_.

"Came so…. So fuh…. Hah…hah…" He started to say, but he did not have the energy to finish the sentence even, just using whatever strength he had left to enjoy the complete and total beauty of the creature he just copulated with.

Diamond had been _melted_. Not bothering to remove his member from herself just yet, she flopped onto his chest, her tongue hanging out as well, a pool of drool forming near his collarbone. "I'm hah…I'm….hah….I'm so _bad_ …Gill…. Your injuries… I might have made them _worse_ …." She sobbed, eyes wavering. "I just couldn't _stop_ myself, I wanted you so **badly**!"

He would have absolutely _none_ of that, taking her head in his hands and readjusting her, completely ignoring his injuries. "I'm not having _any_ more nurses, no more treatments, I don't want to be cleaned, you're going to _stay_ right here with me until I fall asleep, and you're going to **stay** with me until I wake up…. I don't want to be _apart_ from you anymore… Please just _stay_ with me… Diamond… I… I _**love**_ you…." He finally confessed to her, words replete with sincerity.

And just like that, he'd done it. He'd _completely_ melted the walls of ice she had built around her heart, and totally claimed it for himself, now and forever. It was his, it was _completely_ _**his**_. And she had never been so _happy_ to hear anything in her entire _life_. Weakly pulling herself off of the ranger's now softening member, she scoots up to lay on him so that their heads would be near enough to one another that they could kiss more if they wanted to. She licked at the scruff of his chin several times, just fondly appreciating the ruggedness of her wonderful mate. "I love _**you,**_ Gill _ **!**_ That's what I came in here to _tell_ you!" She admitted to him without any shame whatsoever. "You saved me from _everything_ and I want to give you _**everything**_ , I want you to _catch_ me and make me yours _forever_ , I want you to be my _trainer,_ my _**master**_ , my _partner_ , my **lover** , my _**mate**_ , my _**everything**_!"

Totally overcome with emotion, Gilliam shuddered with joy as he used his hands to pull her face right next to his lips, kissing them briefly and breaking away slightly, with their noses pressed together and heads just far enough apart that he could speak to her, "I don't _deserve_ to have _any_ of that from you, Diamond, I really **don't** , but I'll give you _everything_ in return, everything you _want_ , **anything** you could ever _want_ from me, it's all _yours_ , because I _**need**_ you!"

The little glaceon was so elevated by bliss and happiness in that moment, that she gave way to licking his face and lips repeatedly before he even had a chance to _finish_ that sentence, then responding "Mmmf! _Mmmmnnnn_! You're so **stupid**! _I'm_ the one who doesn't deserve _you_! Stop being an _idiot_ and just **make** **out** with me!" she commanded him.

For the rest of that evening the two of them sat in that room together undisturbed, smooching, cuddling, and making love to one another in various ways, until they were both so tired they fell asleep, the ice-type happily laying on top of him just like that, the sheets of the hospital bed and a blanket provided to keep patients warm strewn over top of them. And they slumbered with the most peaceful transcendence into the world of dreams that either of them had ever experienced in their entire lives, having truly found the _one_ individual they had each always _dreamed_ of sharing a romance with, but neither of them had even known that they **needed** so desperately.


End file.
